• Increased attention to the Institute's role in improving instructional competencies within the decision sciences;
• Increased internationalization of the Institute;
• Increased visibility of the Institute in promoting interdisciplinary research, instruction, and service initiatives within the decision sciences and related fields;
• Increased use of advanced technology within the programs and workings of the Institute; and
• Continuous improvement of the functioning of all activities of the Institute.

At that time I took the opportunity to discuss briefly the rationale for the Institute's increased attention to its role in improving instructional competencies within the decision sciences and promised to comment in subsequent þPresident's Lettersþ on the Board's rationale for adopting the remaining four priorities.

In this issue I would like to bring you up to date on the progress that has been made in increased internationalization of the Institute since 1990. Also, I'd like to express my thanks to many of you who have worked hard to make it possible for the Institute to begin realizing this goal. Some of you may be aware that prior to 1990 internationalization was not a priority for many institutions, including the Decision Sciences Institute. As a statistician and member of the Bernoulli Society and the International Statistical Institute, I was comfortable with attending international meetings and sharing my research in parameter estimation techniques. Because statistics and mathematics are universal languages and are the ``same the world over,'' internationalization was not a priority for meþeven though I taught at a research university's business school. I simply did not seriously think about such ideas as global research universities, adding an international dimension to the curriculum, global information exchange and other topics related to globalization and diversity. My primary contribution to internationalizing curricula was to encourage my children and other students to study abroad and learn to speak more than one language! It took a change in my duties at the University of Georgia and an article by Bob Markland to make me aware of the need for the Decision Sciences Institute to become an international organization.

In his Decision Line article, Bob Markland proposed that the Decision Sciences Institute consider following industry and research universities in addressing the issues of internationalization. Although prior to 1994 there were two international meetings and an increase in the number of papers on international issues presented at annual meetings, it was not until April 1994 that the Board of Directors appointed Bob Markland as the Institute's first global development coordinator.

Significant progress has been made in internationalizing the Institute. In June 1991, the First International Meeting was held in Brussels, Belgium. The Institute also held international meetings in 1993 and 1995. The second and third meetings were held in Seoul, Korea and Puebla, Mexico. While these meetings have fostered many professional relationships, they have also provided opportunity for participants to discuss decision sciences' issues from a global viewpoint and, thus, advance our disciplines.

I am happy to report that this past April the Board of Directors approved a proposal for the Institute to hold its Fourth International Meeting in Sydney, Australia. This meeting is planned for July 20-23, 1997, and will be chaired by Professors Norma J. Harrison, Macquarie University, and Miles G. Nicholls, Swinburne University of Technology. The conference theme is ``InnovationþNew Products, Processes and Techniques.''

In 1993, more than 450 academicians and business practitioners from 25 countries attended the international meeting in Seoul, Korea (co-chaired by Professors Soo-Il Kwak, Kee Young Kim, Bob Markland and Chan Hahn). More than 250 papers, workshops and panel discussions were presented. At this meeting, discussions began on forming a new regional organizationþthe Asia-Pacific Region of the Decision Sciences Institute. This summer, two years later, approximately 250 of us have just attended the first annual meeting of this region (June 21-22, 1996). I congratulate the organizing committee of the 1993 meeting for their part in bringing to fruition the Institute's sixth region. Congratulations are also extended to the organizing committee of the first annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Region, chaired by Professor Ho Geun Lee, and to the program co-chairs, Professors Kar-Yan Tam and Kee Young Kim, for planning an outstanding program.

Approximately 130 persons attended the successful Puebla meeting chaired by Professors Benito Flores and Manuel Mancebo in June 1995. Good progress has been made in forming a Latin American (or Mexican) region. Several organizational meetings have been held. The Board of Directors hopes that a proposal from the organizers to establish the Institute's seventh region is forthcoming.

One of the 1995 charges for the Strategic Planning for International Affairs Committee (SPIAC), chaired by Bob Markland, was to develop a strategic plan for internationalization of the Institute. The committee proposed 14 actions for the Board's approval. They are listed below as presented to the Board.

1. Continue to conduct international meetings, on a two-year cycle.
2. Encourage the development of international DSI regions as an outgrowth of these international meetings.
3. Recognize that the internationalization of DSI is a long-term effort that requires patience and persistence, especially since we began with a small base of international members. Continue our efforts at recruiting new international members and retaining existing international members. Coordinate this effort with the Member Services Committee.
4. Coordinate the long-term internationalization strategy with the long-term goals and strategy of the DSI Board of Directors. There needs to be a continuous dialogue between the SPIAC Committee and the DSI Board of Directors.
5. Solicit nominations of international members for DSI elected officer positions and as nominees for Fellows.
6. Identify current U.S. members with international backgrounds and solicit their help in recruiting more international members.
7. Increase the planning horizon for the development and staging of international meetings.
8. Capitalize on the multi-disciplinary nature of DSI since this is one of our major strengths.
9. Improve the process by which international meetings are developed.
10. @B_1A1#TXT = Assess the demand for DSI type services in foreign countries.
11. @B_1A1#TXT = Identify local þchampionsþ for DSI in foreign countries.
12. @B_1A1#TXT = Do something special for foreign attendees at our annual meetings.
13. @B_1A1#TXT = Provide special services for mailing materials to international members of DSI.
14. @B_1A1#TXT = Consider increased interaction and coordination with other professional societies who perhaps have larger numbers of international members than DSI. Do this only if it is clearly advantageous to DSI.

The author of an article that I read in 1991 warned that in internationalizing an institution ``we must be willing to measure our progress inch by inch not mile by mile.'' This has not been the case for the Decision Sciences Institute. I am very pleased with the progress that has been made. It is noteworthy that the work involved in this effort has been done by a small percentage of the membership. Therefore, I have elected to list all of the actions proposed by the committee and approved by the Board in hopes that all of us can be more involved. For example, all of us can do something þspecialþ for foreign attendees at our annual meeting to make them feel welcome. We can also solicit nominations of international members for leadership positions, recommend outstanding international members to the Fellows Committee, and help identify current U.S. members with international backgrounds and seek their help in recruiting new international members. Would you please look through the list above to determine if you can make other contributions? Your help will be greatly appreciated.

In the May 1996 issue of Decision Line the members of the Institute's committees were printed. There were 174 names listed. Again, I want to thank each person on the list for their service to the Institute. Although in some cases only a small number of vacant positions were to be filled, a concerted effort was made to balance the membership of committees across all regions. The committees have their 1996-1997 charges and many have already begun their work.

Many of the committee charges are also objectives that the Board has adopted. I believe these objectives are consistent with the priorities given at the beginning of this letter and I list them here to make you aware of the direction the Institute is taking this year.

1996-97 Board of Directors' Objectives

• Increased internationalization of the Institute.
• Increased attention to the Institute's role in improving instructional competencies within the decision sciences.
• Increased visibility of the Institute in promoting interdisciplinary research, instruction and service initiatives within the decision sciences and related fields.
• Increased use of advanced technology within the programs and workings of the Institute.
• Continuous improvement of the functioning of all activities of the Institute.

Fellows

1. Work in a supportive role with the 1996, 1997, and 1998 track chairs and program chairs to involve Fellows in designing, organizing, and delivering high visibility sessions at the annual meetings. As a goal strive to have at least one Fellows' high visibility session for each track at these meetings.
2. Explore the "spirit" of a minimum-threshold level in each area that is considered during the Fellows' nomination process: (a) research and scholarship, (b) teaching or administration, and (c) service to the Institute.

Publications

1. Continue to monitor the quality standards of all of the Institute's publications and inform the Board of any current or potential problems. In particular, continue a high quality review process and maintain a reviewer pool for papers submitted to Decision Sciences.
2. Continue to work with Hal Jacobs, publications coordinator, and the Information Technology Committee to review and make recommendations regarding the information technology (both hardware and software) needed to support publications.
3. The Board has charged the Information Technology Committee to help, advise and mentor Hal Jacobs in producing the proceedings on CD-ROM for the 1997 Annual Meeting. This is to be monitored by the Publications Committee and to be done in close cooperation with David Olson, 1997 program chair. Consider how many and the mode of delivering hard copies of articles in the proceedings at the annual meeting. Also, consider expanding the final program to include short abstracts of the program sessions.
4. The Board has charged the Information Technology Committee to help, advise and mentor Hal Jacobs to experiment with the World Wide Web. This is to be monitored by the Publications Committee and to be done in close cooperation with Lori Franz, 1996 program chair.
5. Complete the smooth transition of the Decision Line editorship to Barbara Flynn, effective January 1997.
6. Work with the job placement coordinator and Information Technology Committee to implement producing the placement directory in electronic media for the 1996 Annual Meeting.

Alpha Iota Delta

1. Work with the Regional Activities Committee to establish new and revitalize chartered Alpha Iota Delta chapters within colleges and universities in all of the regions of the Institute.
2. Establish appropriate procedures for determining what information is to be placed on Alpha Iota Delta's home page of the World Wide Web and how the home page is to be maintained. Finalize the creation of the home page on the World Wide Web.
3. Work with the chair of the Member Services Committee to develop a brochure aimed at faculty members that outlines the advantages to the faculty member of sponsoring a chapter of Alpha Iota Delta on his/her campus.

Placement Services

1. Clarify and publicize a recommended cut-off date of additions to the placement service database.
2. Work with the editor of Decision Line to create and develop a column in the newsletter. Such a column could include such items as placement survey reports, statistics on job availability, number of students graduating, and student placements from the Institute's Placement Service database, among other topics.
3. Explore alternative methods of delivery for the Job Placement Directory. Work with the editor of Decision Line to determine the feasibility and advantages of publishing the directory in Decision Line.
4. Work with the Information Technology Committee to redesign the Placement System so that it can be accessed through either the gopher or the World Wide Web (WWW) for possible implementation for the 1996 Annual Meeting. Work with the Publications Committee in recommending the distribution of the Job Placement Directory.
5. Implement producing the Job Placement Directory in electronic media for the 1996 Annual Meeting.

Programs and Meetings

1. Continue to call upon the Fellows, track and theme chairs, board members, program chairs, and the Institute membership at-large to arrange high visibility sessions at the 1996, 1997, and 1998 annual meetings, as well as at regional and international meetings. (Board members and Fellows sessions should be coordinated through the 1996, 1997, and 1998 track chairs and program chairs.)
2. Consider how the Institute can ensure that our international participants are welcomed and recognized in the program and other activities.
3. Work with Lori Franz, 1996 program chair, to assess the "trial session" of papers already accepted for publication (or published) in Decision Sciences. Based upon the experience in 1996, make recommendations and develop a policy, for Board approval, on presentation of papers accepted for publication (or published) in Decision Sciences.
4. Work with David Olson, 1997 program chair, to examine alternatives to topic tables such as "poster tables" for the 1997 Annual Meeting.
5. Reevaluate the way regular sessions are held at the annual meeting, both in design and delivery.
6. Review the core tracks of the annual meeting for changes, if any (Chapter Four, Section II., C.).
7. Determine the cost and feasibility of distance learning, teleconferencing, or videotaping portions of the annual meeting.
8. Develop a list of six to eight recommended candidates for the coordinator of the 1998 New Faculty Development Consortium.

Strategic Planning for International Affairs

1. Continue to conduct international meetings on a two-year cycle. Explore possible meeting sites throughout the world that are consistent with our recommended strategies regarding internationalization of the Institute.
2. Continue efforts at recruiting new international members and retaining existing international members.
3. Develop operating procedures for developing international meetings.
4. Develop support teams for newly developing regions of the Institute.
5. Continue to assist in the development of the Asia Pacific region of the Institute.
6. Continue development of a European region.
7. Consider organizing a competition for the international meetings similar to the Institute's Instructional Innovation Award.

Innovative Education

1. Continue the coordination of the 1996 Instructional Innovation Award Competition, and begin the process for coordinating the 1997 competition.
2. Provide feedback from reviewers to the four finalists prior to their presentations for all concerned.
3. Work with the Information Technology Committee to set up and maintain a list of past Instructional Innovation Award finalists and winners and the submission guidelines for this award. Place this information on either the gopher or the World Wide Web.
4. Define further the nature of the proposed Instructional Innovation Award for DSI international meetings, its purpose, submission procedures, and evaluation approach, and make recommendations to the Board.
5. Report on the outcome of the MBA Core Curriculum, Ph.D. Curriculum, and Undergraduate sessions at the 1996 Annual Meeting in Orlando.

Development for Excellence in the Decision Sciences

1. Revise the definition of the Development Committee in the Policies and Procedures Manual to reflect its current function of "goals development."
2. Develop a three-to-five year strategic plan for DSI. Build on the work of the 1995-96 Development Committee in considering opportunities and threats to the Institute and the priorities of the Institute adopted by the Board of Directors.
3. Review the Institute's mission statement and, if needed, propose a revision.

Regional Activities