The revitalized Arizona SIM chapter and its dynamic leader connect to campus
Just a few years ago, the Arizona chapter of the Society for Information Management was struggling, but Kevin Sauer, the current chapter president, decided to do something about it. These days membership is strong and meetings feature expert speakers. Through a special arrangement, one representative of the DISC, the Department of Information Systems' student organization, is invited to attend each monthly meeting and SIM is funding a $1,000 scholarship for a promising junior or senior. In recognition of his success in turning the chapter around, the international SIM organization recently honored Sauer as its 2010 Leader of the Year for small chapters.
Just a few years ago, the Arizona chapter of the Society for Information Management was struggling. Membership in the local organization of the international association of information technology executives had dwindled to fewer than 20.
Although women had become an important presence in the IT industry, there were none on the group's board of directors, and the chapter had no female members. Monthly meetings sometimes featured speakers who were salespeople for information technology vendors. Members had begun to discuss disbanding the chapter.
Then, Kevin Sauer decided to do something. In December of 2008, as ripples from the financial crisis spread across the country, he was laid off from his job as chief information officer for Phoenix-based Merchants Information Solutions. Sauer had joined SIM two years earlier, and now with some extra time available, he decided to focus on improving the chapter.
He was elected president of the group and began using his contacts in the local IT community to recruit new members. In less than two years, membership more than doubled. Several women joined, and two were elected to the board of directors. Sauer began bringing in impartial experts to speak at the chapter's monthly meetings.
By this fall, the Arizona chapter of the Society for Information Management, the premier organization worldwide for IT executives, had over 40 active members, an established series of monthly dinner or breakfast meetings, and a number of ongoing programs connecting the SIM to the area's IT community.
And, the international SIM organization recently honored Sauer as its 2010 Leader of the Year for small chapters.
University ties part of SIM success
A key facet of Sauer's campaign to revive SIM in Arizona was to connect the organization to Arizona State University and the W. P. Carey School of Business. Working with Harvey Shrednick, senior lecturer in the Department of Information Systems and a long-time member of SIM, Sauer found a number of ways that the institutions could help each other.
Sauer is a frequent visitor to campus, often speaking to classes and clubs. Other SIM members also come to the W. P. Carey School to share their expertise with students and faculty. SIM helps to promote programs and events at the university.
Although membership in SIM is traditionally limited to IT executives, the Arizona chapter arranged for a special group membership for the student organization Department of Information Systems Club, known as DISC. The SIM chapter invites one member of DISC to attend the monthly dinner or breakfast chapter meeting, which is held at the historic University Club on ASU's Tempe campus.
"I felt we needed to form a closer relationship with the university," Sauer says. "I believe strongly that students are the future. Our economy is really dependent on having a strong IT workforce here in the United States and particularly in Arizona."
Sauer recently announced that the SIM chapter will award a $1,000 scholarship to a promising university undergraduate. The scholarship, which will be given in December, will go to a junior or senior.
Shrednick, who before coming to the W. P. Carey School was chief information officer and senior vice president for Corning Inc. and served as president of SIM international in the 1990s, believes the growing ties between SIM and the university will help both institutions.
"We're trying to have more of a collaboration between SIM and its members on one hand and ASU faculty and staff on the other. We're trying to build a closer relationship," Shrednick says.
Other members of the Arizona chapter SIM from the W. P. Carey School are Michael Goul, chairman of the information systems department, and Chris Tyler, director of business information technology.
A network at the top of its field
Founded in 1968 and now based in Chicago, the Society for Information Management offers members in-depth knowledge and the latest research findings in the IT field. SIM organizes conferences, symposia and informal meetings and it also publishes online and print resources on industry news and research.
Forging ties with academia has long been a priority for the society, according to SIM International chief executive Wendell Jones.
"We publish an academic journal, and we sponsor academic papers," Jones says. "We have many members who are academics. We have a very active academic division."
SIM chapters around the country have established a variety of relationships with academic organizations. The Boston chapter provides support and instruction for underprivileged youths interested in pursuing higher education in IT. A Florida chapter has established an auxiliary chapter for college students.
"Our chapters are still fairly autonomous," Jones says, "and the real value to our members comes from what happens at the chapter level."
An opportunity for students to connect
While the society and its chapters are happy to get new members, they keep a tight rein on who can join. Members must be at the management level, typically chief information officers, and IT vendors looking to join to get sales leads are excluded.
"We probably decline more memberships than we approve," Sauer says. "Chapters have some leeway in how they handle membership -- some have 80 percent practitioners and 20 percent consultants and salespeople. In Arizona, I wanted it to be 100 percent practitioners. If IT vendors want to get involved, they can do so through sponsorship of a program."
The result of the policy is that IT executives can gather to network and share expertise without having people around trying to sell them something, according to Sauer.
The Arizona chapter's monthly meetings begin with an hour or so of informal networking, followed by a meal — dinner or breakfast — then a 20-minute report by the chapter president, followed by a guest speaker.
"Even though we say we bring in speakers, it's not really a formal presentation," Sauer says. "Sometimes they'll put together a PowerPoint presentation. We look at it as a roundtable."
Speakers might be an FBI agent who is an expert on cyber-security or an executive recruiter who can discuss the merits of putting a chief information officer on a company's board of directors.
At the start of the chapter meetings, Sauer recognizes the student who is attending from DISC. He urges members to introduce themselves to the student later and encourages them to share their business cards.
"This gives students the ability to network with potential employers," Shrednick says. "They also get exposure to whatever content is being presented at the meeting."
A growing commitment
Membership in SIM costs $400 a year for an IT executive employed at a for-profit company. Members who work for non-profit organizations pay about $100 less. Because SIM is a non-profit 501(c)(6) organization all membership costs are tax deductible.
Revenue from dues is split evenly between the chapter and the international organization. Chapters also get some revenue from companies that sponsor programs.
The student scholarship being offered by the Arizona chapter is an important commitment, according to Shrednick. "Our chapter really has a barebones budget, and we are taking a thousand dollars out of it," he says.
Sauer says he hopes to see the scholarship fund grow and the ties between the university and the Society for Information Management become stronger.
"What I challenge the folks in my chapter to do is to help to mentor any of the students that they can," Sauer says.
Bottom line
He was elected president of the group and began using his contacts in the local IT community to recruit new members. In less than two years, membership more than doubled. Several women joined, and two were elected to the board of directors. Sauer began bringing in impartial experts to speak at the chapter's monthly meetings.
By this fall, the Arizona chapter of the Society for Information Management, the premier organization worldwide for IT executives, had over 40 active members, an established series of monthly dinner or breakfast meetings, and a number of ongoing programs connecting the SIM to the area's IT community.
And, the international SIM organization recently honored Sauer as its 2010 Leader of the Year for small chapters.
University ties part of SIM success
A key facet of Sauer's campaign to revive SIM in Arizona was to connect the organization to Arizona State University and the W. P. Carey School of Business. Working with Harvey Shrednick, senior lecturer in the Department of Information Systems and a long-time member of SIM, Sauer found a number of ways that the institutions could help each other.
Sauer is a frequent visitor to campus, often speaking to classes and clubs. Other SIM members also come to the W. P. Carey School to share their expertise with students and faculty. SIM helps to promote programs and events at the university.
Although membership in SIM is traditionally limited to IT executives, the Arizona chapter arranged for a special group membership for the student organization Department of Information Systems Club, known as DISC. The SIM chapter invites one member of DISC to attend the monthly dinner or breakfast chapter meeting, which is held at the historic University Club on ASU's Tempe campus.
"I felt we needed to form a closer relationship with the university," Sauer says. "I believe strongly that students are the future. Our economy is really dependent on having a strong IT workforce here in the United States and particularly in Arizona."
Sauer recently announced that the SIM chapter will award a $1,000 scholarship to a promising university undergraduate. The scholarship, which will be given in December, will go to a junior or senior.
Shrednick, who before coming to the W. P. Carey School was chief information officer and senior vice president for Corning Inc. and served as president of SIM international in the 1990s, believes the growing ties between SIM and the university will help both institutions.
"We're trying to have more of a collaboration between SIM and its members on one hand and ASU faculty and staff on the other. We're trying to build a closer relationship," Shrednick says.
Other members of the Arizona chapter SIM from the W. P. Carey School are Michael Goul, chairman of the information systems department, and Chris Tyler, director of business information technology.
A network at the top of its field
Founded in 1968 and now based in Chicago, the Society for Information Management offers members in-depth knowledge and the latest research findings in the IT field. SIM organizes conferences, symposia and informal meetings and it also publishes online and print resources on industry news and research.
Forging ties with academia has long been a priority for the society, according to SIM International chief executive Wendell Jones.
"We publish an academic journal, and we sponsor academic papers," Jones says. "We have many members who are academics. We have a very active academic division."
SIM chapters around the country have established a variety of relationships with academic organizations. The Boston chapter provides support and instruction for underprivileged youths interested in pursuing higher education in IT. A Florida chapter has established an auxiliary chapter for college students.
"Our chapters are still fairly autonomous," Jones says, "and the real value to our members comes from what happens at the chapter level."
An opportunity for students to connect
While the society and its chapters are happy to get new members, they keep a tight rein on who can join. Members must be at the management level, typically chief information officers, and IT vendors looking to join to get sales leads are excluded.
"We probably decline more memberships than we approve," Sauer says. "Chapters have some leeway in how they handle membership -- some have 80 percent practitioners and 20 percent consultants and salespeople. In Arizona, I wanted it to be 100 percent practitioners. If IT vendors want to get involved, they can do so through sponsorship of a program."
The result of the policy is that IT executives can gather to network and share expertise without having people around trying to sell them something, according to Sauer.
The Arizona chapter's monthly meetings begin with an hour or so of informal networking, followed by a meal — dinner or breakfast — then a 20-minute report by the chapter president, followed by a guest speaker.
"Even though we say we bring in speakers, it's not really a formal presentation," Sauer says. "Sometimes they'll put together a PowerPoint presentation. We look at it as a roundtable."
Speakers might be an FBI agent who is an expert on cyber-security or an executive recruiter who can discuss the merits of putting a chief information officer on a company's board of directors.
At the start of the chapter meetings, Sauer recognizes the student who is attending from DISC. He urges members to introduce themselves to the student later and encourages them to share their business cards.
"This gives students the ability to network with potential employers," Shrednick says. "They also get exposure to whatever content is being presented at the meeting."
A growing commitment
Membership in SIM costs $400 a year for an IT executive employed at a for-profit company. Members who work for non-profit organizations pay about $100 less. Because SIM is a non-profit 501(c)(6) organization all membership costs are tax deductible.
Revenue from dues is split evenly between the chapter and the international organization. Chapters also get some revenue from companies that sponsor programs.
The student scholarship being offered by the Arizona chapter is an important commitment, according to Shrednick. "Our chapter really has a barebones budget, and we are taking a thousand dollars out of it," he says.
Sauer says he hopes to see the scholarship fund grow and the ties between the university and the Society for Information Management become stronger.
"What I challenge the folks in my chapter to do is to help to mentor any of the students that they can," Sauer says.
Bottom line
- Kevin Sauer, president of the Arizona chapter of the Society for Information Management, is the 2010 recipient of the Leader of the Year award for small chapters.
- Founded in 1968 and now based in Chicago, the Society for Information Management offers members in-depth knowledge and the latest research findings in the IT field.
- The Arizona chapter's monthly meetings include informal networking, dinner or breakfast, and a guest speaker.
- Speakers might be an FBI agent who is an expert on cyber-security or an executive recruiter who can discuss the merits of putting a chief information officer on a company's board of directors.
- The Arizona SIM chapter will award a $1,000 scholarship to a promising junior or senior this December.
- Although membership in SIM is traditionally limited to IT executives, the Arizona chapter arranged for a special group membership for the student organization Department of Information Systems Club, known as DISC. The SIM chapter invites one member of DISC to attend the monthly dinner or breakfast chapter meeting, which is held at the historic University Club on ASU's Tempe campus.
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