From the Chair. . .

Greetings SIGIR members and friends,
One of the questions I’ve often been asked during the past three years I’ve served as Chair is
why would anyone want to join SIGIR, and more specifically, what’s in it for me? Such questions
usually make me smile because more often than not the person asking me is someone who has
published countless papers at SIGIR conferences and who has used SIGIR as a platform to establish
and build their reputation and career through participation in workshops, tutorials, reviewing andconference leadership.
What good is SIGIR? Without this community, we would not have each other. We would nothave well-organized and well-designed opportunities to come together to discuss and share ideas,
and learn from one another. We would not have opportunities to network and discover researchcollaborators and friends. We would have fewer means to launch and refine our own careers andhelp others as they do the same. SIGIR is a supportive, person-centered community that provides
infrastructure and inspiration to people all around the world who are interested in improving
information access for the greater good. Why should you join SIGIR? Because without you, ourcommunity, and the opportunities and visions it creates, would not exist.
Our community has strengthened and grown during the past few years. The SIGIR Conference
saw record attendance in 2017 (n=911) and 2018 (n=747); this year’s conference in Paris is on track
to reach these numbers. One of the underlying forces that has driven the current SIGIR Executive
Committee has been to increase diversity and inclusion, with respect to people, participation andprogramming, and research topics. I am tremendously grateful to Jaap Kamps (Vice Chair),Emine Yilmaz (Secretary), Ben Carterette (Treasurer) and Charlie Clarke (Past Chair), as wellas to all the SIGIR volunteers, for their support, energy and ideas during the past three years.
Some of our most significant accomplishments include:
1. Continuing to look-after students by increasing conference travel support, appointing a Student Affairs Chair, and creating a Student Liaison program;
2. Initiating the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion lunch at SIGIR, and, as you will see below,
creating new volunteer positions to expand and sustain these efforts;
3. Developing and instituting fiscal policies that allow organizers of the SIGIR conference,ICTIR and CHIIR to reduce the cost of conference registration for SIGIR members andstudents;
4. Creating and organizing the 1st ACM SIGIR/SIGKDD Africa School on Machine Learning
for Data Mining and Search, which you can read more about in this issue of SIGIR Forum.
Of course, there were other accomplishments, many behind-the-scenes issues and business todiscuss and consider, and a steady stream of interactions with the ACM. Since the publication of
the last issue of SIGIR Forum, the Executive Committee has created a number of new volunteer
positions. Donna Harman has agreed to serve as the inaugural SIGIR Historian. Jiaxin Mao has
joined Laura Dietz as Student Affairs Co-Chair. Barbara Poblete, Hussein Suleman and Suzan
Verberne will serve as the inaugural SIGIR Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Co-Chairs.
The basic charge for this committee is to unify and coordinate existing DEI efforts; identify ways

ACM SIGIR Forum

1Vol. 53 No. 1 June 2019to sponsor and encourage DEI programs at co-sponsored SIGIR conferences; and develop andimplement the SIGIR Diversity Scholars travel grant program. This team will also lead the way
in creating a DEI agenda and vision for SIGIR.
In early April, the SIGIR Executive Committee and a number of volunteers gathered inCologne, Germany to work on a redesign of the SIGIR website, and formulate plans of action
to improve documentation and create digital assets and collateral that can be used by the community. The SIGIR Executive Committee recognizes that lack of documentation, which is a legacy
issue, is a huge block to inclusion. If we want SIGIR to be less cliquish and more inclusive, thendocumentation, and the transparency it provides, are necessary first steps. The outgoing Executive Committee looks forward to working with the incoming Executive Committee to continue
these efforts to improve our communications and documentation, and to find new ways to promote
the accomplishments of SIGIR community members, who do amazing things every day.
Speaking of amazing things and people, I’d like to close by recognizing Seamus Lawless, whodedicated countless hours of service over the course of his career to enrich and enliven the SIGIR
community. Shay’s generosity and kindness will be greatly missed by us all.
Diane Kelly
Chair of the SIGIR Executive Committee
chair SIGIR@acm.org

ACM SIGIR Forum2

Vol. 53 No. 1 June 2019