News from the President

If you didn't attend the spring AUBER/NABE meeting, you missed an excellent opportunity to hear current relevant information about national economic policy. I found the remarks by Ben Bernanke, a governor in the Federal Reserve System; John Snow, the newly appointed Secretary of the U.S. Treasury; and (although depressing) Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies to be particularly insightful. The sessions were well organized, valuable, and well received according to all the AUBER members I interviewed. Unfortunately, I was the victim of two concurrent commitments due to my board membership with the Military Officers Association of America, and ended up commuting back and forth across the Potomac several times a day in an attempt to fill both obligations. As a result, I was unable to attend as many of the presentations as I would have liked.

Speaking of meetings, please remember to mark your calendars for the fall AUBER meeting, which will occur Sunday, October 12, through Tuesday, October 14, 2003. Vice-President Janet Speyrer <jspeyrer@uno.edu> and the University of New Orleans will host the event, which is scheduled at the historic Hotel Monteleone, located in the French Quarter. Conference program chairs President-Elect Marshall Vest <mvest@eller.arizona.edu>, University of Arizona, and Director Stephen Smith <scsmith@cc.memphis.edu>, University of Memphis, are putting together an exciting program. If you wish to present, contact Marshall at <mvest@eller.arizona.edu>, or Stephen at <scsmith@cc.memphis.edu>. On the conference agenda are a swamp tour (they are looking for "gator bait") and a meal, entertainment, and visit to the D-Day Museum, coupled with many opportunities to experience the sights and sounds of New Orleans. These activities among others will ensure an unforgettable meeting. Janet has even has obtained a past-lieutenant governor for her staff to help keep the AUBERites under control.

You may be interested in knowing that the Executive Committee was busy at the spring meeting and several items of note were accomplished. While some of these will require constitutional amendments to become permanent, they will be brought before the membership for approval at the fall meeting. The first item was the renaming of the "Editors" to become "Research Communicators." This new title was believed to be particularly important given the changed role of persons who were historically known as editors in today's research centers. The second item is that starting with the fall conference, there no longer will be a separate "Editor's Track," but instead concurrent sessions available to all participants that will focus on communication of information about a center's products and services. This renaming will not affect the publications and Web awards scheduled for the fall conference. You will soon be receiving information from Ashvin Vibhakar <apvibhakar@ualr.edu> about these awards.

The XCOM reaffirmed that the University of Arizona, Arizona State University, and Northern Arizona University will jointly host the fall 2004 meeting in Tucson. The XCOM also was pleased to consider an offer by the University of Montana to host the fall 2005 meeting, but postponed a final decision on that offer until the meeting in New Orleans. Secretary/Treasurer Richard Wobbekind <wobbekin@colorado.edu> of the University of Colorado at Boulder reported that AUBER is solvent, but in need of new members. I challenge you to identify any universities with business or economic research centers either from your own state or other states who are not currently members and let them know about AUBER. We have a good organization, and I am sure that they would be interested in meeting our members.

The XCOM also heard a presentation from Nicole Gislason <nicole@uwf.edu> of the University of West Florida, which now hosts the AUBER Web site at <http://www.auber.org>. Members are encouraged to visit the site for current information, as well as to update the information contained in the membership directory (see instructions on how to do this on page 6). The membership directory contains significant search capabilities and can be particularly useful for locating AUBER members conducting particular types of research.

To end this letter, I would be remiss if I did not continue my theme about managing business and economic research centers. I believe that outstanding directors of centers share qualities that engender acceptance and respect from their subordinates, and I would like to offer a few words on these characteristics. These qualities are found in directors who lead the right way, which is not necessarily the easy way. The first of these qualities is high but realistic standards for center products or services (i.e., they expect their staff, through dedication and hard work, to meet attainable performance standards and production goals). When these goals are attained, staffers feel a sense of professional and personal growth. The second of these qualities is firm but fair control. Directors clearly need to be in control, yet need to maintain this control in a manner such that staffers are willing to accept guidelines and limits for their behavior. Staff members should feel safe in bringing problems to directors because they will respond in a helpful and immediate way and be fair in judgment. Third, directors need to develop a healthy involvement with their staff. They should care about their staffers as people and respond to their needs with understanding and sensitivity. Finally, directors should generally be upbeat and give regular positive feedback to their staffers. Through these actions they can encourage professional development of their staff, as well as a team orientation within the workplace. Because of healthy caring, staffers will also accept a director as a person who is respected as a leader.

Directing a center is both an art and a science and demands an individual who is a master of both. Unfortunately, few of us are "natural managers" who intuitively are able to lead others ably and comfortably. The remainder of us must learn effective management through experience or specialized training and a focus on personal awareness, then attempt to integrate this background and focus into a strong and motivating management style. When this style is attained, it results in a sense of belonging and loyalty to and from the group that is managed; when it is absent, the organization suffers. To become a good director, one might take one of Winston Churchill's comments to heart, "I'm always ready to learn although I do not always like being taught."

Jerry L Wall
University of Louisiana
at Monroe