August 8, 2022
A message to the OR/MS community:
Our Annual Meeting will be held in just over two months in Indianapolis, and some INFORMS members have expressed apprehension over visiting a state that may pose healthcare risks in light of the new law, recently passed in Indiana. Your sentiments have been heard and are appreciated.
We believe it is important to hold our Annual Meeting, as planned, in Indianapolis, where our community and our research will benefit from being together, in-person. Additionally, there are serious logistical, financial, and legal implications associated with going online or hybrid. Moreover, abandoning Indianapolis by going virtual or hybrid would hurt the very people (e.g., hotel workers) that many of us want to help.
The health and safety of our community is our top priority at the upcoming Annual Meeting. We are investigating ways to provide attendees with access to emergency reproductive healthcare, and details regarding these plans will be forthcoming. We are also looking into additional ways to address the concerns raised by some in our community.
We understand that this is a divisive issue with many different views. We take all of these perspectives seriously. We also hope that all of you decide to join us in Indianapolis.
If you want to share your thoughts on any of the above, please let us know by sending an email to IndyMeeting@informs.org.
Sincerely,
Radhika and Laura
Radhika Kulkarni
2022 INFORMS President
Laura Albert
2023 INFORMS President
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Radhika Kulkarni
Vice President, Advanced Analytics R&D (retd.)
SAS Institute Inc.
Durham NC
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