Plus Ça Change…

The early years of operations research set the directions of scholarly research and commercial applications that continue today. After four decades the initial promise is a reality. As the field matured, we became skillful in getting successful applications. We also became insensitive, however, to what is required to sustain this success. The field never had a unifying core. The diversity of themes was recognized at the outset and continues to undermine further progress in educating practitioners. I reflect on how we got here and suggest educational changes that are long overdue.