In November 1968, a small group of faculty members representing a national cross-section of schools met in Atlanta to lay the groundwork for an organization that would encourage interdisciplinary communication in the emerging field of decision sciences.

A year later, about 100 charter members met in New Orleans to hold the first annual meeting of the American Institute for the Decision Sciences (renamed Decision Sciences Institute in 1986). The annual meeting now draws over 1,500 participants who are interested in active dialogue in the now well-established discipline. The Institute's flagship journal, Decision Sciences, first published in 1970, is now a highly recognized publication among practitioners and academicians.