Message from the chairman

A plan for strengthening the role of technical activities in the organizational structure of the IEEE was hammered out by the twenty-three Group??Chairmen in attendance at a meeting of the Technical Activities Board on 14-15 May 1969. Of the twenty-seven members on the IEEE Board of Directors only one (the IEEE Vice-President Technical Activities) is presently charged with being responsive to the needs of all thirty-one Groups. A major feature of the new plan is to assign seven more of the existing twentyseven directorships to represent the activities of the Groups. The objective is to provide a better balance in the policy making functions within the IEEE between the technical and the regional activities of the organization. Another feature is to provide a greater degree of autonomy to the larger Groups in order that they may compete more effectively with outside organizations. This is believed to be an important factor for the future growth and health of the Institute.