How OCAIR Was Born

Below are some e-mail exchanges during OCAIR's first few months. Thanks to our members who saved those earlier records.

Subject:organizational matters
From:"Jing Luan" <jiluan@cabrillo.cc.ca.us>
Date:Tue, 4 Jun 1996 14:20:32 PST
To:andrew.huang@wmich.edu, bhnho@cunyvm.cuny.edu, chenc@uwwvax.uww.edu, 
davidxc@bap.ucsb.edu, hychen@vax.wvup.wvnet.edu, iclpl@asuvm.inre.asu.edu, 
jiluan@cabrillo.cc.ca.us, jtian@wppost.depaul.edu, lhan@umdacc.umd.edu, 
meimei@umich.edu, qwang@bridgew.edu, sb_deying@mash.colorado.edu, 
shuqin-guo@uiowa.edu, twoyear@cnsibm.albany.edu, wyu@umpir.msmail.miami.edu, 
yangx@ncccs.cc.nc.us, yli@aacc.nche.edu, zhai@gasou.edu, zhangr@mail.oit.osshe.edu

Dear Folks,

I am delighted to have read so many thuoght provoking comments from 
the netlist members.  However, more issues are popping up and the
comments from the netlist members are overwhelming.  At this point, 
there're some house cleaning matters we need to attend to:

1) we need to designate/elect a secretary to the netlist (serving 
between conference years) who will have the following responsibilities:
 
 a. collecting and sorting the comments from netlist members;
 b. re-distributing summary comments of outstanding issues;
 c. responsible for contacting the netlist Chair (to be elected) relating to 
       important issues for the group;
 d. minotoring the addition and deletion of members;
 e. filing; and
 f. reporting to the group at the general session at the next 
       conference.

2) we should finalize our group name.  At this point, I'd like to 
refer back to the naming strategy we initially agreed upon: we would 
rather be exclusive than inclusive.  For an emerging/evolving group 
like us, we are groping in the dark and we don't want our guests to be
doing the same with us.  However, using the word "Chinese speaking" 
is too ethnic.  I strongly agree with the suggestion that we will 
ultimately merge with IR folks who are Korean and Japanese descent.  
How about calling ourselves "Pan East Asian Institutional Research 
Group" (PEAIRG)?  Its acronym is easy to read and sounds unique to 
Americans.  

3) we should, within the next 2 or 3 months, elect a Group Chair.  
S/he will work with the Secretary to provide guidance and 
coordination to all netlist members.  

Having said all the above, I need to declare that my job 
responsibilities simply cannot allow me to seek any of the posts.  
I'd still be happy to maintain our netlist datafiles for the time 
being.

Thanks for your attention.


        ******************* message from *********************
    Jing Luan, Ph.D.
    Director, Institutional Research
    Cabrillo College
    6500 Soquel Drive
    Aptos, CA 95003
    U.S.A.
        408/479-5719 voice
        408/477-5228 fax

Subject:Group Leadership 1996-1997
From:"Jing Luan" <jiluan@cabrillo.cc.ca.us>
Date:Wed, 12 Jun 1996 11:38:45 PST
To:andrew.huang@wmich.edu, bhnho@cunyvm.cuny.edu, chenc@uwwvax.uww.edu, 
davidxc@bap.ucsb.edu, hychen@vax.wvup.wvnet.edu, iclpl@asuvm.inre.asu.edu, 
jiluan@cabrillo.cc.ca.us, jtian@wppost.depaul.edu, lhan@umdacc.umd.edu, 
meimei@umich.edu, qwang@bridgew.edu, sb_deying@mash.colorado.edu, 
shuqin-guo@uiowa.edu, twoyear@cnsibm.albany.edu, wyu@umpir.msmail.miami.edu, 
yangx@ncccs.cc.nc.us, yli@aacc.nche.edu, zhai@gasou.edu, zhangr@mail.oit.osshe.edu

Dear Netlist Folks,

I'd like to take this opportunity to thank you for asking me to assist 
with organizing the leadership for our group. After much thinking and 
consultation with our previous meeting minutes, I am introducing 
you the leadership for 1996-1997:  


GROUP CHAIRS
Xing Chen & Jin Tian

Xing Chen is Associate Director, Institutional Research, Unversity of 
California at Santa Barbara.  He goes by the name of David.  At our 
last meeting, we were impressed by David's vigor to carry out a 
few solid projects and his professional networking ability.

Jin Tian is Director of the Office of Institutional Planning and 
Research at DePaul University.  For those present at our meeting in 
May, you all remember Jin's vision of our group: to increase the 
presence and influence of our group in matters related to IR in 
American Higher Education.


GROUP COORDINATOR
Wanda Liu

Wanda is Research Associate at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor. 
She was not at our last meeting, but she volunteered tremendous 
amount of time in bringing all of us on the netlist together and she 
has done an extremely good job.  

With this, we have completed our transition from "just another" emerging 
Special Interest Group(SIG) to a semi-professional and well organized 
Group.  Our Chairs will be overseeing the overall issues concerning 
our group with the focus on the external issues and our 
Coordinator will manage the internal issues. 

It is my firm belief that with David at the helm and assisted by Jin, 
our group will be embarking on a new era in which a great many 
wonderful things will happen and we will be an active participant at 
our next AIR Forum  in Orlando.  

I hereby humbly ask all of you to join me in supporting David, Jin 
and Wanda.  I am personally looking forward to our future as a group 
with great excitment and anticipation.

Thank you.


Jing Luan


p.s. 
Please delete Lap Pun Lam from your distribution list while keeping 
his demographic profile in the separate file I sent you a while ago.


        ******************* message from *********************
    Jing Luan, Ph.D.
    Director, Institutional Research
    Cabrillo College
    6500 Soquel Drive
    Aptos, CA 95003
    U.S.A.
        408/479-5719 voice
        408/477-5228 fax