A Message from the Chair,
Joseph G. Fisher
Indiana University

Hello to all members of the ABO Section. We have several activities (both past and future) that I want to report on. First, we had a very successful ABO Research Conference that was held at the Wyndham Dallas North in Dallas Texas this past October. Thanks to Marlys Lipe for putting the conference together. Many high-quality papers were presented and the group dinner at the Blue Mesa Grill was a lot of fun. We also were relieved to finally present the Outstanding Research Contribution award to Anthony Hopwood (Oxford University). Professor Hopwood is very deserving and it was an added benefit to hear from him as a member of the editor's panel. The planning for next year's conference in Denver is well under way. Sean Peffer (University of Kentucky) has agreed to chair the 2003 ABO Conference.

We also were well represented at the AAA National Meetings at San Antonio. The chair-elect, Stacey Whitecotton (Arizona State University), was introduced along with our new Secretary/Treasurer, Stacy Kovar (Kansas State University).

The 2003 AAA National Meetings will be held in Hawaii. Anne Magro is the ABO Meeting Coordinator. Please consider sending your papers and checking off the ABO Section. I believe that our number of paper slots is a function of the number of submissions.

Linda Thorne (York University) is chairing our Outstanding Dissertation award for this year. Please encourage your doctoral students to consider applying for this award.

The Section is doing well both financially and programmatically. Our finances are in the black and we have slowly been building our balance. The executive committee is considering publishing an ABO supplement that will be associated with the ABO Research Conference. I will provide more information about this proposal in the future. As always, consider taking a more active role in the Section: chair a committee, work as a regional representative, moderate or discuss a paper at our research meetings.

If you have any comments, ideas, or concerns, please let me know.