OR/MS Today - February 1997

February 1997 € Volume 24 € Number 1

Informs Board Report

INFORMS presents the highlights from the Board meeting held Oct. 3-4, 1996 at the fall national meeting in Atlanta:

President-Elect's Report
The president-elect gave a progress report on a collection of initiatives to improve the value that INFORMS offers to full-time practitioners. The Board endorsed an appropriation to support conversion of practitioner presentation materials from INFORMS national meetings to web format during 1997 on an experimental basis.

The Board endorsed a plan to pursue the design of a bulletin supplement to send to practitioners, especially in the local meeting area, to encourage them to attend national meetings.

Publications
After extensive investigation led by the vice president of publications, the executive director, the director of publication production and the director of finance, INFORMS received final bids from vendors for composition and printing of the nine printed journals of the society.

These bids are expected to result in substantial annual savings. The INFORMS Board approved the appointment of Professor Hau Lee (Stanford University) as the next editor-in-chief of Management Science.

The Board also approved the re-appointment of Professor Michael Rothkopf (Rutgers University) as the editor-in-chief of Interfaces and Professor Arie Lewin (Duke University) as the editor-in-chief of Organization Science.

Information Technology
The Information Technology Committee reported on the scanning and electronic delivery of back issues of journals. The Board empowered the Executive Committee to negotiate contracts with JSTOR to include Operations Research and Management Science in its database if JSTOR is willing to proceed, as well as other services for other journals.

INFORMS On-Line continues to thrive, receiving approximately 40,000 requests weekly.

Education Group
The Board approved the appointment of an Ad Hoc Task Force on Young Member Recruitment and Retention to be co-chaired by James Orlin and Julia Pet-Edwards. The INFORMS doctoral colloquium reported an unusually large number of participants this year. The additional students were supported by funding from sources outside of INFORMS.

Subdivisions
The Board chartered a new student chapter at the University of Illinois-Chicago. The Board approved changes in the bylaws to allow technical subdivisions to have student chapters.

In particular, MAS (Military Applications Section) will have student chapters at the military academies. The Board approved a new technical subdivision, the Management of Medical Technology Section. The INFORMS marketing department and the Subdivisions Committee created a subdivisions brochure which includes a description of each of the subdivision's activities.

This will be helpful for potential and new members. The business office has created a template for the subdivisions to facilitate the creation of subdivision brochures customized with desktop publishing. Workshops on creating subdivision Web pages were offered in Atlanta and are forthcoming in San Diego. A workshop on creating excellent subdivision newsletters will be offered in San Diego.

Awards Group
Upon recommendation of the Academic/Practitioner Interface Committee and the Education Committee, the Board approved a new prize (for Spring of 1998), the INFORMS Prize for the Teaching of OR/MS Practice.

Finances
A 1997 INFORMS Budget was approved with an operating surplus of $14,716.

Some notable new items were $8,500 for meetings marketing that targets specific groups of practitioners; $7,000 for maintenance cost of scanning &endash; information technology; $5,000 Web conversion of meetings presentations; $3,000 for the Speakers Program; $1,500 for the Task Force on Young Member Recruitment and Retention; $300 for planning expanded Continuing Education Committee; and $300 for the Teaching of Practice Prize Committee.

Membership is holding steady. As of Nov. 1, 1996 there were 11,157 members. For the 1996 budget year, as of October 1996, there is a projected net surplus of $98,400. There is an operating deficit of $84,800 and a net gain on endowment of $183,200. A Task Force, formed to re-examine the approach to Public Relations (the objectives, strategy and tactics), gave its report. It recommended an in-house staff member handling public relations. The Executive Committee authorized the recruitment of a director of public relations subject to an expanded set of qualifications.

Meetings
The Meetings Committee reported the Atlanta meeting was the first that allowed INFORMS On-Line registrations. More than 200 registrations were received electronically by the pre-registration deadline. Also, proofreading of the bulletin was done through IOL. 118 teachers attended the high school program initiated by Frank Trippi.

Member Services Group
Job Placement is sending out a questionnaire to all on-site employers to evaluate satisfaction and success with the current service.

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