Writing this letter in early spring, I want to provide a midyear update on Alumni Board activities and point out some exciting new developments that will have a direct impact on you.

As you know, this year the Board is addressing three specific areas of concern to alumni and the School: support for club operations, development of continuing education, and the marketing of programs and services to alumni. Three committees have been formed to focus on these issues, and they are presently hard at work assessing the current status of programs and services with the goal of making informed recommendations to the School at the Board's spring meeting. Stay tuned - I will give you a progress report in a subsequent issue of the Bulletin.

In addition to these standing committees, two other committees are focusing on pertinent issues. The nominating committee is developing and refining a list of potential candidates for the Board. Each year, the Board nominates twelve alumni to serve a three-year term. The nominees are drawn from the School's volunteer corps of class secretaries, club officers, Fund agents, reunion committee members, and career liaisons. While the process for selecting nominees to the 1999-2000 Board is well under way, you are welcome to "throw your hat in the ring" or recommend someone for the following year by contacting Christine Fairchild, director of Alumni Relations at HBS, at 617-495-6437, or via e-mail at cfairchild@hbs.edu. She will explain the nominations process and outline the qualifications for service.

By the time this issue lands on your desk, the Global Alumni Conference in Cape Town will still be an exciting memory for those of you who were able to attend. The Global Alumni Conference committee is already focusing on the next conference - scheduled for Berlin, Germany, June 13-16, 2000 - as well as the conference in 2001, slated for Cleveland, Ohio. In order to give subsequent conference hosts enough time to plan, the committee has begun the process of identifying a site and a theme for 2002.

Finally, I want to direct your attention to some exciting innovations that grew out of recommendations made by the Board last year. Recognizing that technology and the Internet are, for many of you, the primary vehicles for communicating with each other and learning about developments at the School, two new features were launched recently on the HBS Web site. By accessing www.alumni.hbs.edu, you will be able to link to video presentations by the faculty at reunions. I hope this new feature connects you more dynamically to the faculty and the important work being undertaken at the School. With the aim of supporting your efforts to contact each other, the School has rolled out section e-mail lists. By accessing www.alumni.hbs.edu/class/section, you will be able to send an e-mail message to your entire MBA section or Executive Education class - a wonderful way to share news and keep the HBS spirit alive.

I trust this information is useful to you. You can look forward to subsequent reports in future issues as we keep you informed of the latest HBS developments - both on and off campus.

Charles F. Milner, Jr. (MBA '65) March 1999

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