The purposes of ACORD are:
- To encourage interest in the field of operations research and the management sciences;
- To encourage discussion and interaction among individuals who serve as chairs, directors, and heads of academic programs in operations research and the management sciences;
- To advise the INFORMS Board on aspects of the academic environment for operations research and the management sciences and to keep the INFORMS Board apprised of developments in this area.
There are currently around 80 members of ACORD and a members-only online community that reaches all members.
ACORD has an annual meeting at the general INFORMS Conference (October or November of each year). This is usually a breakfast forum with one or more speakers.