Ed Brennen Amit Deokar, an associate professor of Operations and Information Systems in the Manning School of Business, has been recognized as a Distinguished Member (Cum Laude) by the Association for Information Systems (AIS). With 4,400 members representing 1,951 higher education institutions in 98 countries, AIS is the largest and most prestigious international professional association for academics involved in research and teaching of information systems. Deokar is just the second faculty member from the UMass system, and third from the commonwealth, to be recognized as a distinguished member. âI am honored to receive this recognition and feel humbled to be in company with leaders in the field who have contributed tremendously to the AIS community,â says Deokar, who joined AIS in 2004 as a doctoral student at the University of Arizona. âIt speaks to the support I have received from my departments and universities I have been affiliated with, without which many activities would not have been possible, and I am thankful for their support.â Â