Published on January 7, 2026

IEEE ProComm is able to reach its members and the larger community in large part due to its Leadership volunteers. ProComm’s Immediate Past President, Alan Chong, bids farewell to his presidential duties, with an eye for new projects within IEEE. ProComm thanks you for your leadership in the past years!

With his permission, we publish here his parting message available on LinkedIn.

After many rewarding years, I’ve officially moved on from my active role in the IEEE ProComm: IEEE Professional Communication Society (ProComm), after finishing up my term as Immediate Past President.

I’m proud of what we accomplished over this time: several successful conferences, a revision of the Society’s bylaws to allow for broader participation in governance (including a new committee structure with new VPs and President-Elect positions), a deepening of collaborations with other IEEE communities (including IEEE Signal Processing Society and other societies in IEEE Division VI) through conference workshops on technical communication, and strengthening support for student competitions. More importantly, ProComm is in excellent hands with its current and future presidents, Suzanne Lane and Pam Estes Brewer, Ph.D. and an engaged committed Board of Governors.

But I’m also excited to share that the work I’ve done with ProComm has also opened doors to broader involvement across IEEE. In 2026, I’m taking on a new role as an elected member of the IEEE Conferences Committee. In this capacity, I’m looking forward to advancing ideas I care deeply about: stronger cross-society collaboration to improve conference experiences, clearer and more robust guidelines for conference papers and AI-assisted authorship, and initiatives that broaden conference participation and appeal.

I’m grateful for the ProComm and IEEE communities and excited about what’s ahead.

–Alan Chong