Honoring the Life and Legacy of Professor Ron Howard

A gathering place for the Decision Analysis community to remember, celebrate, and build upon Ron’s lifelong contributions.

GET INVOLVED
Our Initiative
We are celebrating Ron’s gifts to us for the whole year since his passing on October 6, 2024. The purpose of this website is to create a central space for memories, insights, and celebrations of Ron’s work, open to all who wish to participate. It may form the basis for books and the beginning of a “Museum of Better Decision Making.”
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Join us as we build this living legacy. This site will soon expand with events, stories, and opportunities to share your memories of Ron and his profound influence on the world.
How You Can Contribute
Let’s get in touch and share stories, insights, and memories. The examples on the right are just a starting point—if you have other ideas, we welcome everyone to get involved!
Share your story
Inspirations & Contributions
Feature ‘Pearls of Wisdom,’ shared videos, written tributes, and memories from Ron’s colleagues, students, and friends.
Past Works & Resources
A space dedicated to Ron’s professional contributions, like Decision Analysis, Ethics, and his lifelong commitment to Clarity, Truth, and Freedom.
Community Involvement
Opportunities to share stories, contribute resources, and explore ways to honor Ron’s legacy within their own communities and organizations.
Event Planning & Participation
We will have multiple parallel events. Suggest an event or volunteer to join a group that has begun planning an event.

Explore memories with Ron. Have a memory to share? We’d love to hear from you!

I lost a piece of my heart with Ron Howard's passing. Thank you Ron for the relationship and succor you extended to me, and to everyone I saw you interact with and teach. Thank you for your myriad contributions--academic, didactic, practical, creative, motivational, inspirational, philosophical, and personal. You were the archetype. I value every hour spent with you, more than you could ever know. Like Joni Mitchell sang, "You're in my blood like holy wine." Ron, you were there, deep inside my blood, and myriad others'. You changed lives. The quality and prescience of your work speaks for itself, as presented at the Retirement party. It is the person, the essence, that I loved and that changed lives. Peace.
- Dale Nesbitt

I grew very fond of Ron over the years, always loved seeing him and talking with him at the INFORMS. He was straightforward and spoke to people as equals. The fact that I felt comfortable having the conversation below testifies to that fact.  I had heard he followed Buddhism, although I’m not sure if I heard that from him or through the grapevine. In any event, around a dozen years ago, I had a conversation that went something like this (I warn you, though, I don’t have a memory for exact conversations, so this is paraphrased and with no guaranty of accuracy). Me: Can I ask you a question? Ron: Sure. Me: You are a father of decision analysis. As a Buddhist, how can you believe in maximizing utility in decision analysis when utility functions … Ron: are built on preferences? Me: Yes. Isn’t preferring one state to another a form of attachment? Ron:  Of course it is. So, yes, utility functions are artificial. And not only that, probabilities are artificial – why should I attach to an expectation that this will happen or that, when I do not control what happens and there is so much we cannot know? Me: Good point! Ron: Well, I don’t believe in it, in that sense. I don’t want to attach to these things. But I believe Decision Analysis works – if a client has preferences and beliefs, I am happy to help them make a better decision. Me: Aaahhh.

- Jeffery Keisler

Upcoming Events & News
- We Are Getting Started -
We’ll post news, upcoming events, and community stories here. Check back soon to stay connected!
SDP Annual Conference
March 24 - 27, 2025
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The Society of Decision Professionals (SDP) is planning to honor Ron at its upcoming annual conference in Vancouver.

‍Contact
‍Hilda  Cherekdjian
hilda@decisionprofessionals.com
DA Society of INFORMS
To be announced
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The DA Society of INFORMS is organizing an event. Stay tuned for details!
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‍Contact
‍Grushka-Cockayne Yael
GrushkaY@darden.virginia.edu

Ali Abbas
aliabbas@usc.edu
Sharing Stories and Tributes
January/February 2025
(specific date to be announced)
A virtual gathering is being planned to share memories and tributes in Ron's honor. The session will include -  90 minutes on personal topics and 90 minutes of professional topics. Be ready to contribute your stories (must be under 2 minutes).

‍Contact
‍Carl Spetzler
cspetzler@sdg.com
A commemorative book with contributed chapters is among the many exciting ideas being considered.
Stay tuned for more updates!
More to Come: Celebrating a Legacy Together
This website is a work in progress, just as Ron’s influence continues to grow and evolve. Stay tuned as we expand with new stories, shared memories, and interactive ways to engage with Ron’s legacy.

Get Involved

Help us build this tribute by contributing your memories or sharing Ron’s influence on your life. Sign up to receive updates as we expand this digital tribute.
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