By Matthew A. Lanham, PhD
Assistant Professor of Business Technology and Analytics
Butler University Lacy School of Business

Receiving the INFORMS Volunteer Service Award has made me think about the people who first welcomed me into this community. The award recognizes exceptional volunteer service to the Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences. I am grateful for the recognition and for the opportunities that began with someone inviting me to participate. Now I want to extend that invitation to Butler students through MISTA and to students and professionals everywhere through the INFORMS Analytics Society.

An invitation at Virginia Tech

My involvement with INFORMS began with free pizza. I was a graduate student at Virginia Tech, studying in both the statistics department and the business school. A friend from one of my statistics classes, who was pursuing a doctorate in Industrial and Systems Engineering, invited me to a meeting of the university’s INFORMS student chapter. He mentioned there would be free food. I accepted without imagining where that invitation would lead.

At the meeting, a student discussed using optimization to improve healthcare operations. I had been so focused on understanding uncertainty and predictive analytics that I had overlooked another important question: How can we use analytics to identify the next best action? That presentation opened my eyes to the connection between analyzing data and improving decisions. A meeting I attended out of curiosity helped expand what I could imagine doing with my education.

The following year, I became a student chapter officer. Years later, I served as Treasurer/Secretary of the INFORMS Data Mining Section and was elected its Chair. Working with fellow volunteers, I helped the Section grow into the Data Mining Society. I had gone from accepting an invitation to helping create opportunities for others. That is a path I hope more students will discover.

Finding your place in the guild

My late friend Aaron Burciaga often welcomed new Certified Analytics Professionals, or CAPs, into the “Guild.” Aaron chaired the Analytics Certification Board, served the Analytics Society, and received the Volunteer Service Award in 2016. His welcome stays with me. To me, it connected a professional achievement with a responsibility to help others develop their craft.

Medieval craft guilds organized training and standards of workmanship, and provided mutual support. Modern professional societies share some of those functions through education, mentoring, and fellowship. That is the part of the guild tradition I want us to carry forward: people learning together and taking responsibility for helping the next person.

I see those responsibilities in my service on the INFORMS Analytics Certification Board, which oversees the Certified Analytics Professional program and helps set standards for professional competence. This work supports a credential that students and practitioners can pursue as they develop their careers.

As President of the INFORMS Analytics Society, one of the largest communities within INFORMS, I want to help academics, students, and practitioners learn from one another. The Society offers webinars, professional connections, and opportunities for mentorship. A student can learn how an idea is used in practice. An experienced professional can share lessons that help someone else move forward. We need people willing to do both.

Be strong and courageous

My Christian faith shapes how I view service. This year, I have been teaching 20–25 boys at my church’s Wednesday evening ministry about four pillars of Christian leadership: taking initiative, being courageous, building relationships, and serving others.

I look to Jesus as the model for these commitments. He cared for His disciples and washed their feet, demonstrating that leadership includes humbly attending to another person’s needs. He also willingly gave His life to save others. Christian service begins with gratitude for that saving love.

Ephesians 2:8–10 describes salvation as God’s gift, received through faith in Jesus rather than earned through good works. Service is a response to grace already given. Christians believe the Holy Spirit works within believers, cultivating love, patience, and kindness. As I serve, I ask God to make me more like Christ in how I notice and respond to the needs of others.

Earlier this fall, an invitation at Butler gave me an opportunity to put these lessons into practice. The Compass Center had heard from students and alumni who wanted a Christian worship service on Convocation Sunday. I was asked to give the sermon for incoming students and their families. Although I regularly teach children at church, I had never preached a sermon. I was nervous, but I accepted. I am grateful for the new students I have met through that experience. It also reminded me that we can accept an invitation to serve before we feel completely ready.

For fellow Christians, that call to serve extends beyond church and into our professions. Galatians 6:10 calls believers to “do good to all people.” I see mentoring students and sharing expertise as ways to practice that love. Whatever your beliefs, I invite you to join in this work.

Creating opportunities at Butler

When I joined Butler in 2025, one of my first objectives was to establish an INFORMS student chapter. Today, MISTA is Butler’s INFORMS Student Chapter, with an intentional focus on Management Information Systems, Technology, and Analytics. It welcomes Butler students from any major who want to use data and technology to make better decisions. I want students to find both opportunities to develop their skills and people who will encourage them to use those skills.

This year, Butler has the largest number of participants in the 2026 Data4Good Analytics Competition. Students apply analytics to societal challenges while pursuing learning opportunities and professional credentials. We are also experimenting with fall and spring MISTA Challenge events that encourage students to strengthen their résumés through industry credentials and demonstrated accomplishments. These are opportunities to learn with others and produce work students can share with employers.

That connection between learning and action also shapes my teaching. This spring, MS 379 Contemporary Technologies will introduce students to prescriptive analytics, using traditional analytical methods and AI tools to model business decisions. I want students to carry what they learn in class into the questions and projects they explore with their professional community.

My hope is that a student who joins MISTA today will remain part of this professional community after graduation and eventually welcome someone else into it. Some may return as mentors or chapter advisers. One might even become President of the Society. Each can help someone take a first step, just as my friend at Virginia Tech did for me.

Join us

If you are a Butler student, explore MISTA and email me at mlanham1@butler.edu to get involved. Come to a meeting with a classmate, ask about a competition or the MISTA Challenge, and choose one way to contribute. You can begin with curiosity and a willingness to help.

Students at any institution, alumni, faculty, and practitioners can join the INFORMS Analytics Society. Attend a webinar, introduce yourself, and ask how you can help with an event or support someone who is learning. Start with one contribution you can make now.

My friend’s invitation brought me into this community. Consider this mine to you.