Editor's Introduction

The publication of this issue signals important changes to West Virginia History. After eleven years of serving as editor, it is time for new blood and new ideas. Fortunately, we have not one but two accomplished young historians stepping forward to take charge. Kevin Barksdale, the current associate editor, and Michael Woods, an editorial board member and Kevin's colleague at Marshall University, will begin their tenures as coeditors with volume 12 (2018), which will continue to be published by WVU Press. This will cement the ongoing collaboration between the state's two largest institutions of higher education on West Virginia's history and culture. The new editors will kick off their stewardship of the journal in dramatic fashion with a special double issue focusing on the history, scholarship, and memory of the state's mine wars, organized by Lou Martin, one of the founding members of the West Virginia Mine Wars Museum in Matewan. This double issue will substitute for both the spring and fall 2018 issues and should appear in the fall of next year. I am certain that our readers will appreciate the value and timeliness of such an issue.

I conclude my time as editor with an issue that should spark some new interests. Kimberly Borchard opens by situating West Virginia in a centuries-old context that investigates Appalachia as a borderland— a liminal terrain of hopes and fears, explorations and conflicts. Next, Douglas Terry examines critical debates over the reshaping of Storer College's mission during the height of Jim Crow. Terry's research shows that Storer was a lens through which we can see the larger contest over how African American institutions might best move forward in the face of increasing racism. We also offer our annual bibliography of publications on West Virginia capably compiled by Stewart Plein and our normal complement of book reviews.

It would be poor form if I concluded without acknowledging and thanking the people who have made the new series of West Virginia History the vital source for the state's history that it has become. Ron and Susan Lewis got us up and running; Connie Rice has faithfully managed much of the day-to- day operations; Rachel King has served as the copy editor for the past five years; and I have been blessed with a wonderful editorial board, whose members have helped maintain the professional quality of the scholarship contained in the journal. Likewise, the people at WVU Press have made my job much easier. Thank you all, and enjoy! The new email address for submissions and correspondence with the new editors is: wvhistory@marshall.edu.