OR/MS Today - June 2002 - Forum

<BODY bgcolor="#ffffff" link="cc0000" vlink="cc0000" text="#000000"> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=4 border=0><br>   <table border=0 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=0 width=480><tr valign=top> <td width=10><img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 hspace=4 border=0></td> <td width=470> <FONT face="verdana, arial, helvetica" SIZE=2><B><I><A HREF="../../ORMS.shtml" TARGET="_top">OR/MS Today</A> - June 2002</I></B></font><BR> <hr size="1"> <img src="cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=4 border=0><br> <font face="times new roman, times"> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=4 border=0><br> <FONT face="verdana, arial, helvetica" SIZE=2><B>Forum</B></FONT><br> <IMG SRC="../barbluehook.gif" WIDTH="468" HEIGHT="4"><br> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=8 border=0><br> <FONT SIZE="+2"><B>Minority Issues and Concerns</B></FONT><BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> <FONT face="verdana, arial, helvetica" SIZE=2><B>By Mark E. Lewis, Illya Hicks, William Christian and Tasha Inniss</B></FONT><br> <hr size="1"> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=12 border=0><br>    The first and most important purpose of this article is to "inform" the operations research community of a new organization within INFORMS, the Minority Issues Forum. We will discuss the Forum's mission and what first steps can be taken to achieve that mission, but we will begin with a brief history of events that led up to the founding of the Forum.<BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> At the fall 1999 INFORMS meeting in Philadelphia, then INFORMS President John R. Birge, a longtime supporter of attempts to increase minority representation in the OR/MS community, organized a meeting aimed at developing a Minority Issues Forum. Attendance at the initial meeting was sparse, but the seed was planted; several minority faculty members from various universities decided to undertake the task of creating the Forum. <BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> Spearheaded by Mark E. Lewis, the effort to establish the Forum was supported by several sponsors, including IBM, The University of Michigan, The INFORMS Roundtable, the Women in OR/MS Forum and others. At the fall 2000 INFORMS meeting in San Antonio, the group held a joint reception with the Women in OR/MS Forum. Following the reception, supporters of the Minority Issues Forum collected the 25 signatures required for sanctioning by INFORMS. The Minority Issues Forum became an official forum during the fall 2001 INFORMS meeting in Miami via an enthusiastic endorsement from the INFORMS Board. Support has continued to grow from several well-respected academics and practitioners in the community. <BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=12 border=0><br> <FONT face="verdana, arial, helvetica" SIZE=3><B>The goals</B></FONT><BR> <IMG SRC="../barbluehook.gif" WIDTH="468" HEIGHT="4"><br> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=2 border=0><br> The goals of the Forum, as stated in the Constitution and Bylaws, are:<ol> <li>To foster under-represented minority participation in operations research and management science; <li>To develop close ties among those interested in increasing the number of minority participants in operations research and management science; <li>To disseminate information about the issues facing minority researchers and practitioners.</ol> With these goals firmly in place, we hope that the Forum will continue to gain momentum. Although the Forum is about minority issues, we stress that it is open to all INFORMS members. Indeed, the Forum's progenitor was simply someone who was concerned with the issue of under-representation within INFORMS and saw fit to try to get it started. <BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> For further motivation for the Forum, ask yourself how frequently you have seen presenters at INFORMS meetings that were members of an under-represented group. From a more statistical point of view, in 1997, 18,005 U.S. citizens earned doctoral degrees in science, mathematics and engineering combined, but under-represented groups composed less than 1 percent of that number (NSF, Science and Engineering Indicators, 2000). Moreover, it is now widely accepted that businesses that incorporate a diverse workforce are generally more profitable, and classrooms with a diverse group of people are more dynamic and creative, than non-diversified workforces and classrooms. <BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> With these assertions, we feel the importance of a minority presence in the operations research community is crucial for its continued prosperity. Furthermore, to re-emphasize the point of the previous paragraph, the Minority Issues Forum contends that these concerns are not simply those of minority researchers but should be of interest to the community as a whole.<BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> During the INFORMS meeting in Miami last fall, a Roundtable discussion unearthed some of the concerns of minority researchers. The remainder of this article is dedicated to explaining in detail those concerns and to offer some suggested first steps. One might think of this as a synopsis of all of the participants in the Roundtable discussion. At the conclusion, the reader should then be able to understand issues that we feel are common to many minority researchers in the field, and should be aware of potential solutions as suggested via this Roundtable discussion.<BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> The Roundtable discussion raised several issues, including the need for proactive recruitment and retention, feelings of isolation and a lack of visibility of minority researchers. All of the issues are intricately intertwined. Because of the lack of visibility of minority researchers, there is a paucity of role models for graduate students pursuing OR disciplines. As a result, students are plagued with feelings of isolation. These feelings may lead to feelings of inadequacy that can cause students to end their pursuit of higher degrees, hence, reducing the retention rate of qualified graduate students.<BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> We believe there are several potential remedies to address the problems mentioned. First of all, minority researchers in OR/MS must become more visible. Currently, there are minority researchers in several areas including queueing theory, applied probability, optimization and applied statistics. These researchers can be found at top institutions including Georgia Institute of Technology, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Princeton University, Texas A&M University, University of Michigan, and at governmental institutions such as Los Alamos National Labs, National Security Agency, and Sandia National Labs. It is up to these researchers and academicians to be proactive in becoming more visible to those who are currently junior faculty and students at all levels.<BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> Minority researchers should participate in high school programs that are associated with the annual INFORMS meetings. This would give young minority students more exposure to the field of OR/MS and allow them to see that the choice to be a researcher is one that is open to them. Minority researchers should also participate in the INFORMS visiting lecturer program to speak at colleges and universities where students are less likely to be aware of the opportunities in OR/MS. <BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> Finally, minority researchers who are not faculty at historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) should consider doing a sabbatical at one of these institutions since many of the students who we are trying to reach attend HBCUs.<BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=12 border=0><br> <FONT face="verdana, arial, helvetica" SIZE=3><B>Increase Visibility</B></FONT><BR> <IMG SRC="../barbluehook.gif" WIDTH="468" HEIGHT="4"><br> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=2 border=0><br> Of course, none of these suggestions are restricted to minority researchers or practitioners. We believe that minority students will be receptive to a person of any ethnicity who is sincere in the desire to promote minority representation in OR/MS. The main point is that if one really wants to increase the visibility of OR/MS to talented students of color, a more proactive approach is most likely to be successful.<BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> Once the visibility of the opportunities in OR/MS is increased, the next step is to help ensure the success of the minority students, faculty and researchers. The most prevalent suggested solution among the participants of the Roundtable discussion focused on mentoring. As all of the authors of this article can attest, one of the keys to success in graduate school is having an effective mentor. A mentor should serve as an academic advisor, a confidant, a career counselor, a tutor and a friend. Any student of color pursuing an advanced degree in a mathematics-related field is strongly advised to find someone who has already gone through the process and who is willing to guide them through that same process. To be most effective, this relationship must continue when the student becomes a junior faculty member or practitioner. <BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> For example, a mentor who has had a positive impact and influence on the graduate careers of young researchers in OR/MS, including all of the officers of the Minority Issues Forum, is Dr. William Massey of Princeton University. Dr. Massey was instrumental through Bell Laboratories in administering and working with students in the Cooperative Research Fellowship Program that has funded more than 100 minority students in the mathematical sciences. Through this program, the students were provided funding for graduate school, a summer internship and access to some of the top researchers in their respective fields.<BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> Dr. Massey is also the originator and organizer of the annual Conference for African-American Researchers in the Mathematical Sciences (CAARMS). This conference brings together African-American researchers and practitioners along with several graduate students. It provides the students access to some of the leading researchers in the field, as well as providing a networking environment for minority junior and senior faculty. (Interestingly, John Birge and William Massey were classmates at Princeton University.)<BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=12 border=0><br> <FONT face="verdana, arial, helvetica" SIZE=3><B>Mentorship Program</B></FONT><BR> <IMG SRC="../barbluehook.gif" WIDTH="468" HEIGHT="4"><br> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=2 border=0><br> In an effort to build collaborations between members of the Forum and assist in the professional development of the junior members of the Forum, a mentorship program should be developed. The mentorship program would also have the potential for collaborations resulting in papers, proposals and grants by the mentor and mentee. The potential papers, proposals and grants would improve the possibility of the tenure and promotion of the junior mentee. Thus, the program will increase the number of minority members and build a larger sense of community and support for members of the Forum.<BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> These suggestions are by no means a cure to the problem of a lack of minority representation in the OR/MS community. They are only a first step. It is our sincere hope that the INFORMS community will continue to support the Minority Issues Forum and its mission. We invite all INFORMS members to actively participate and to meet the challenges of making the opportunities for a career in OR/MS open to all.<BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> <CENTER><TABLE BORDER="0" CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="1" BGCOLOR="#990000" width=440> <TR ALIGN="Center" VALIGN="Middle"> <TD><IMG SRC="art/shim.gif" VSPACE=1 BORDER=0 HEIGHT=1 WIDTH=1> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLSPACING="0" CELLPADDING="6" BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" width=436> <TR ALIGN="Left" VALIGN="Top"> <TD> <CENTER><font color="#990000" size="3" face="verdana, arial, helvetica"><B>E-Mail List:</B></font></CENTER><BR> <font size="2" face="verdana, arial, helvetica"> A stated mission of the Forum is to communicate issues and to disseminate information. To this end, the Forum has established two electronic mail lists: <A HREF="mailto:minority-forum-discuss@list.informs.org">minority-forum-discuss@list.informs.org</A> for open discussions about minority issues, and <A HREF="mailto:minority-forum-announce@list.informs.org">minority-forum-announce@list.informs.org</A> for distributing information relevant to minorities and minority issues. The Forum moderates both of these lists. INFORMS members and non-members can subscribe to the lists from links at the Forum Web site.<BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=6 border=0><br> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> <IMG SRC="art/shim.gif" VSPACE=1 BORDER=0 HEIGHT=1 WIDTH=1> </TD> </TR> </TABLE> </CENTER> <BR> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=4 border=0><br> <IMG SRC="../barbluehook.gif" WIDTH="468" HEIGHT="4"><br> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=2 border=0><br> <FONT face="verdana, arial, helvetica" SIZE=2><I>Mark E. Lewis (president), Illya Hicks (vice president), William Christian (secretary) and Tasha Inniss (treasurer) are officers of the Minority Issues Forum.</i><BR>  <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=5 border=0><br>  <img src="../barblue.gif" width=468 height=1 border=0 alt=" "><br> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=8 border=0><br> <font face="verdana, arial, helvetica" size="1"> <CENTER><script type="text/javascript"></script> <script type="text/javascript" src="http://pagead2.googlesyndication.com/pagead/show_ads.js"> </script></CENTER><br> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=8 border=0><br> <LI> <A HREF="tocfr.html" Target="_top"><I>Table of Contents</I></A><br> <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=4 border=0><br> <LI> <A HREF="../../ORMS.shtml" TARGET="_top"><I>OR/MS Today</I> Home Page</A><br>  <img src="../cleardot.gif" width=1 height=1 vspace=8 border=0><br> <img src="../barblue.gif" width=468 height=1 border=0 alt=" "><br> <b><i>OR/MS Today</i></b> copyright © 2002 by <A HREF="http://www.informs.org/" target="_new">the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences</a>. 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