LETTER FROM PRESIDENT.

Preparing an annual report is a simple exercise in recapping recent achievements. And yet it's these very achievements that propel ACM into 2000 with a solid foundation and an even stronger commitment to advancing information technology.

We have the latest tools at our disposal: A digital library in great demand worldwide; a Web presence that offers a comprehensive array of online services to our members; and a dedication to creating new and exciting e-products, e-publications, and e-services in the coming months.

Our footing on a global scale is even sturdier this year thanks to the success of our burgeoning alliances with other professional societies around the world. The Association pledges to expand our member base and to continue creating programs and partnerships with computing societies worldwide.

ACM bas also made remarkable inroads influencing matters of public policy related to information technology. Our efforts to draw political leaders and industry experts together to build effective IT policy is one ACM success story of which I am particularly proud. For instance, the Computers, Freedom, and Privacy '99 conference last April was one of the largest policy events ACM ever hosted, and USACM continues to play a leading role in the public policy realm. The Association also pledges to persist in keeping the Internet a place in which free speech and the small entrepreneur can flourish.

Of course, none of these plans would be possible without the generous support and devotion of ACM's active volunteers and members. We look forward to working together as we enter this new era in information technology. It's truly an exciting time to be in computing and a member of ACM.

Barbara Simons ACM President

HIGHLIGHTS outside the U.S., at Eindhoven University of Technology in The Netherlands, The team from the University of Waterloo, Canada, was crowned the 1999 World champions.

The first winners of ACM's Student Chapter Excellence Program were announced this year. The award for Outstanding Chapter Activities was given to the ACM student chapter at Mississippi State …