INFORMS News: How to win a Student Chapter Award

By Tracy Byrnes

Students: Have you ever wondered how INFORMS determines the winners of the Student Chapter Annual Awards? I was asked that question at the meeting in Austin last year. One student suggested that we publish, along with the award photos, a few details about what the winners actually did to win.

I thought it was a great suggestion, and so below are short descriptions of each award-winning chapter’s particular successes. But first, I’ll take this opportunity to explain how the awards process works. Here’s what you should know:

A small subcommittee of the Chapters/Fora Committee is in charge of the Student Chapter Annual Awards. The subcommittee is comprised of the VP for Chapters and Fora, the Student Chapter representative(s) and the Chapter Relations coordinator (that’s me). The awards are given in three tiers, named for the traditional Latin honors distinguishing levels of academic achievement – summa cum laude, magna cum laude and cum laude.

The committee members individually review chapters’ annual activity reports, submitted earlier that year. Each chapter is given a score on a scale of one to five, in each of these four areas:

• communications (including newsletter, Web site, listserve, etc.)
• meetings – informational content
• meetings – networking/social involvement
• special events and initiatives

Those four numbers are added together to determine the chapter’s score from each judge. Then the judges’ scores are added together to get the chapter’s total score. Finally, we rank the chapters by total score. To determine the three classes of winners, the committee looks for natural breaks, adhering to the rule stated in the Policies and Procedures Manual that no more than 40 percent of the chapters filing activity reports should receive an award. There can be just one or several winners in each class.

Ten chapters were honored last year for their excellence. All of these chapters held regular meetings and events and enjoyed active participation by their members. But various other factors set them apart:

• Summa cum laude: Arizona State University. The ASU chapter was distinguished by heavy involvement in special events, particularly the members’ service at the Western Regional Conference held in April of 2009. After assisting with months of planning, they handled logistics, technical support and helped with registration. They appeared again a few days later at the INFORMS Practice Conference in Phoenix, where they assisted with logistics.
• Magna cum laude: University of Massachusetts. The UMass chapter was distinguished by superior communications, including a regular newsletter and a frequently updated Web site. Also notable was this chapter’s solid leadership and strong sense of fellowship, as demonstrated by a balance of academic and social events.
• Magna cum laude: University of South Florida. The USF chapter was distinguished by a healthy overall balance of good communication, meetings and special initiatives. The chapter was especially dedicated to community service, including weekly tutoring of K-5 students.
• Cum laude: Florida International University. The FIU chapter was distinguished by their many networking and social events, fostering a group of students with a deep sense of community.
• Cum laude: North Carolina State University. The NCSU chapter was distinguished by the strength of their meeting content. Seminars featured speakers from several universities and academic departments, as well as major industries.
• Cum laude: Oklahoma State University. The OSU chapter was distinguished by their good communications and variety of meeting types, including brown bag seminars, workshops and social events. They even organized a field trip to a Wal-Mart Distribution Center.
• Cum laude: Texas A&M University. The TAMU chapter was distinguished by the large number of active members and event participants, as well as for general well roundedness in their regular events.
• Cum laude: University of Alabama. The UA chapter was distinguished by the breadth of their meeting content, covering everything from interview skills and technical writing to programming tutorials and industry speakers.
• Cum laude: University of California-Berkeley. The UC-Berkeley chapter was distinguished by their committee leadership structure, which has helped promote a sense of community among chapter members.
• Cum laude: University of Illinois-Chicago. The UIC chapter was distinguished by their excellent print newsletter and efforts to connect students with local industry professionals.

Tracy Byrnes is the INFORMS chapter relations coordinator.