President's Column
January 2004

Communicating Effectively With U.S. IEEE Members is Top Priority

Welcome to the first 2004 IEEE-USA president’s column. I very much appreciate the opportunity to serve you this year, and hope that working together we can make this a very productive year for IEEE-USA. For that to happen, I will need the help of the very capable volunteers who serve with me on the IEEE-USA Board of Directors and the excellent staff who support all of us.

My highest priority is to communicate effectively with all U.S. IEEE members, which I consider to be our greatest asset. When you have thoughts, suggestions or concerns about IEEE-USA, our activities, organization or other issues, please contact me. The most effective way to reach me is at j.steadman@ieee.org. I’m confident that other members of the Board and the staff share this desire to make IEEE-USA responsive. You can get names and other information about our volunteer leaders and staff members at www.ieeeusa.org/volunteers.

One of our primary activities in 2003 was to combat the unprecedented levels of unemployment among our U.S. members. While many things contributed to this problem —many beyond the control of IEEE-USA or any other organization — we took action on several fronts to address the issues. One of these was urging Congress to remove increases in the H-1B visa quota. We were able to establish IEEE-USA as an organization with credibility in this arena, and Congress let the annual cap return to its historic level of 65,000. It is clear that the topic will come up again in 2004, however, so we must remain vigilant and be ready to provide factual, persuasive testimony when called upon. Furthermore, other activities, such as an improved job-listing site, attention to L-1 visa abuses, and providing services like resume writing and soft skill training, must be continued.

A second high priority for 2004 is to improve our recruitment and retention of U.S. IEEE members. I’m asking members of our Board of Directors to join me in finding the most effective membership activities among the many Sections and Chapters throughout the IEEE, so we can learn from these experiences and share these best practices with our colleagues. I realize that we have not been consistent in getting the message out to all members — nor to potential members working beside us — about the value and benefits of IEEE membership. We will work hard to improve on this in the coming year, concentrating especially on the areas we have responsibility for in IEEE-USA.

The IEEE-USA Operating Committee meeting in late January will further refine our high-priority activities for the coming year. I would appreciate your suggestions in this regard so they can be included in the discussion. To make my time working for IEEE-USA most effective, I would appreciate it if you will include “Suggested Activity for IEEE-USA” in the subject line of an e-mail message to me with your thoughts.

Thanks again for this opportunity to serve you, and here’s to a great 2004.

>> About John Steadman <<

Note to Editors: Please feel free to adapt this IEEE-USA President's Column for use in your local IEEE print and electronic publications. For more information, please contact Chris McManes at c.mcmanes@ieee.org.