Recognizing the increasingly central and critical role that information systems play in organizations, both public and private, the Center for Research in Information Systems (CRIS) is dedicated to undertaking research that (1) aids in our understanding of this phenomenon and (2) explores ways whereby information systems can be used more effectively within organizations. Information systems and technology have near universal application in such areas as (examples, not an exhaustive list):

• National security
• Medical and health care
• Retailing
• Financial and insurance services
• Transportation
• Manufacturing

The management and use of information systems play a key role in the research of CRIS; but because different areas of business are the espoused target, the center is designed to promote multi-disciplinary, cross-functional participation by faculty not just from within the CIS Department but throughout the college.

CRIS complements, but does not compete with, other RCB research centers and institutes while drawing on the traditional strengths of the CIS Department. In particular, the RCB Center for Process Innovation (CEPRIN), with its focus on business processes and supply chain management, complements CRIS, whose broader focus will be on the role that information systems play in all aspects of organizational life. It is anticipated that RCB faculty will be active in both centers.

The Center for Research in Information Systems (CRIS) is a Georgia State University Research Center, chartered by the University of Georgia Board of Regents, and housed in the CIS Department in GSU's Robinson College of Business. The mission of CRIS is to partner with the IT business community...

• To promote Georgia as a leader in the management and use of IT and thereby to attract new companies to Atlanta and to the state
• To assist companies in their use of IT to create business value
• To provide educational programs to enhance to the skills of companies' IT workforce
• To conduct "action research" to solve companies' real-world problems

Ephraim R. McLean, Ph.D.
Regents' Professor
Interim Director, CRIS