December 14, 2004

Dear Fellow HEUG Members,

The December 13th announcement that PeopleSoft and Oracle had reached agreement on a friendly takeover took us by surprise, as I'm sure it did you.  Our Board meeting with PeopleSoft last week suggested that the company was looking forward to a future as an independent provider of software, fully committed to working with us to continue to deliver solutions needed in higher education.

Today we completed our second conference call with some executives at Oracle in the product, strategy, and user group support areas.  With the transaction incomplete, there isn't a  lot that can be done.  However, we have started a dialogue, and can say that the overall atmosphere is very positive and cooperative.  The contracts we've made with Oracle demonstrate a desire to maintain cooperative, supportive relationships with our higher education community.  I have to believe that the HEUG Conference in March will be an incredibly informative one.

Certainly, over the last 18 months, each of us has speculated about this moment; we've all done a million what-ifs and then-what's.  Now that the day has arrived, we on the board suggest patience.  Much will happen over the next weeks and months and eventually a clear picture will emerge.  In the mean time we will continue to do what you've asked us to do - represent you and your interests in the best way we know how.  Please know that we are as committed to working with Oracle as we have with PeopleSoft, and continue to express our community's needs and direction.  We have always taken great care to be sufficiently independent of our software provider in order to maintain the credibility necessary to adequately express your needs and concerns.  We will maintain that clear but collaborative independence as we move forward with our relationship with Oracle.

We look forward to seeing you in March at our annual HEUG conference.  We should have much to share and much to learn.  This is likely to be one of the most exciting HEUGs ever.  We're looking forward to it.

Mike TenEyck
HEUG Board President