The meeting was by all measures a success, thanks to the conference and program developers, including Program Chair Mike Showalter (Florida State University), Associate Program Chair V. Sambamurthy (Florida State University), Proceedings Coordinator Pamela Perrewe (Florida State University), and Local Arrangements Coordinator Hank Hennessey (University of Hawaii at Hilo). A special thanks is also extended to the more than fifteen track chairs who worked with Mike Showalter and his group to structure and develop outstanding and stimulating program sessions. And, we extend a special thanks to Carol Latta and the Home Office staff who, as always, provided tremendous ``behind the scenes'' efforts in support of the overall conference.

Part of the activities at our annual meetings is associated with doctoral students. This year's Doctoral Student Consortium, while not one of the largest-þlikely due to the cost associated with the meeting being in Hawaiiþwas indeed a success. A number of individual participants indicated that it was tremendous. The Doctoral Dissertation Award Competition likewise was a success, with an ever increasing number of quality submissions. On behalf of the Institute I would like to thank the individuals who organized and orchestrated these events. Specifically, I would like to recognize Jim Evans (University of Cincinnati) for his support of the Doctoral Student Consortium, as coordinator. Second, I would like to recognize Bob Jacobs (Indiana University) for managing the Doctoral Dissertation Competition. Additionally, the Institute is indebted to Richard D. Irwin, Inc. and to the School of Business and Public Administration at Baruch College, for their continued financial support of the Doctoral Student Consortium. The Institute also is indebted to Austen Press for co-sponsoring the Elwood S. Buffa Doctoral Dissertation Competition Award.

Other activities which have become a part of our annual meeting is the New Faculty Development Consortium, which was coordinated this year by Nancy Hyer (Vanderbilt University) and the Instructional Innovation Award Competition, which was coordinated by Keong Leong (The Ohio State University). The focus of the Consortium was ``Launching and Sustaining an Academic Career: Strategies for Success.'' More than fifteen contributing speakers and presenters were involved in the program, which addressed numerous topics including: (1) building a research portfolio, (2) achieving teaching excellence, and (3) do's and don'ts's for academic success. The Instructional Innovation Award Competition was broad range, and, as has been the case in the past, the number and quality of submissions for this year's competition was excellent. On behalf of the Institute I would like to express sincere appreciation to Nancy and Keong for their efforts in making these activities a success. A special thanks is also extended to Addison-Wesley Publishing Company for sponsorship of the New Faculty Consortium and to both Alpha Iota Delta and boyd & fraser publishing company for sponsorship of the Instructional Innovation Award.

The Professional Development Program, which was conducted by Nada Sanders (Wright State University), included seven sessions which offered a wide range of topics. Specific topic areas included: (1) research methodology for operations management, (2) administrative issues, such as challenges facing department chairs and following a career path into academic administration, (3) tips on publishing by journal editors, (4) methods for improving teaching skills, and (5) ways of improving student written and oral skills in the decision sciences. The development sessions, which were conducted on Saturday prior to the formal beginning of the conference on Sunday, were well organized and presented, thanks to Nada's efforts and support.

One of the activities which differentiates the Institute from other academic organizations is our placement service. Although the number of academic positions available in the market place have been limited for the past several years, the placement service was extremely popular and heavily utilized. Leon Price (University of Oklahoma), as always, effectively organized and ran the activities as placement services coordinator. Institute members, and in particular Ph.D. students seeking faculty positions, are greatly indebted to Leon and his support people for their work and efforts. A special word of appreciation is also extended to the College of Business at the University of Oklahoma for financial support of the placement service activities for the past three years.

Two of the special events for our 25th Annual Meeting, and from which hopefully all members benefited, was our Plenary Breakfast Session and our President's Luncheon. Mr. Andrew Mastrandonas (Executive Director of the Global Environmental Management Initiative) provided the plenary address titled ``Environmental Management: Where Companies Are Heading, Where Academics Should Be.'' His challenging remarks focused on the role and responsibility that we as academicians have in the present and future in environmental management. Professor Kee Young Kim (Yonsei University, Seoul, Korea) honored the Institute by serving as our first International Eminent Scholar at our Presidential Luncheon. Dr. Kim's address, which was titled ``The Challenges of the Asian Pacific Dynamism in the New International Economic Order,'' provided thought- provoking comments regarding the dynamism of Asian businesses and the implications it has for the rest of the world, particularly North America and Europe. The Institute is indebted to both of these individuals for sharing their insights and thoughts regarding future directions for all of us. A special thanks goes to Mike Showalter for arranging these special activities.

One of the highlights of the meeting was announcing to the Institute, after final approval from the Board, the creation of the Asia-Pacific Region. The organizational meeting of the region met and the following officers were elected:

President: Duk Choong Kim (Sogang University) President-Elect: Kee Young Kim (Yonsei University) Korea Vice-President: Jin-Joo Lee (KAIST) Korea Vice-President: Jinijiro Nakani (Waseda University) Japan Vice-President: Eric Tam Yeung (Perfacta Co.) Hong Kong Vice-President: Norman Harrison (University of Technology at Sydney) Australia Vice-President: Louis Ta (National University of Singapore) Singapore Vice-President: Andrew Pan (Taiwan National University of Technology) Taiwan General-Secretary: Jong U. Choi (Sangmyung Women's University) Korea Treasurer: Tae-Hyun Kim (Yonsei University) Korea

Congratulations to each of these individuals and a special word of thanks for their efforts in forming the first international region of the Institute.

In my comments regarding the meeting I have not identified all the award finalists and winners of the various paper and instructional competition awardsþthis is reported elsewhere in this issue of . I would, however, like to congratulate all those individuals who participated in these special activities. It is through your efforts and capabilities that the Institute's annual meetings continue to be of the highest quality.

On behalf of the Institute, I would also like to recognize and congratulate our newly elected Fellows, who were inducted at the President's Luncheon. They were: Lester A. Digman (University of Nebraska) and Ernest C. Houck (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University). The accomplishments in academia and the contributions to the Institute of both Les and Ernie indeed set them apart.

It is also with great pleasure that I say ``congratulations'' to Terry R. Rakes (Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University), this year's recipient of the Distinguished Service Award. Terry has served the Institute both nationally and in the region for many years and indeed is deserving of such recognition. His unlimited willingness to serve the Institute should be a challenge to all members.

Where do we go from here? As I indicated at the President's Luncheon in Hawaii, and as I noted in the President's Letter in the prior issue of , two key issues face the Institute in the future. First, we must internationalize the organization, and second, we must focus on the interdisciplinary nature of the Institute.

We have made great strides in moving towards internationalization. The Asia-Pacific Region is now formalized, and plans are being made to have a regional meeting in June, 1995. Activities are also well along for our 1995 International DSI Conference in Puebla, Mexico (June 12-14). Hopefully, this meeting will result in the creation of a Latin American Region. We also are continuing to pursue the creation of a European Region. Later this year we will have a Coordinator of International Affairs, and we have created an international column for .

But, our progress in taking advantage of the multi- disciplinary nature of the Institute is minimal. As I stated in my column is the September/October issue of , the future of the Institute lies in our ability and the willingness of our members to develop meeting programs and agendas that will integrate our functional areas. We have the components to provide such programs, but we must ``take action.'' I have challenged the 1995 program chair, Ernie Houck, and his group of track chairs to address this vital issue. Based on the strengths of the Institute, I am certain we can meet the challenge. If you have ideas and thoughts regarding this matter, I would welcome your comments.

Plan now to attend and participate in the 1995 Annual Meeting in Boston, and if funding permits, in Puebla, Mexico, at our International Meeting.