Editor's Note: On the Journey of Discovering General Education

The new century has begun. No longer are we forecasting into the unknown, wondering how life in the academy will be different for students, faculty and administrators in the Knowledge Age. Instead, we are living the journey, collaboratively constructing the new realities of the collegiate enterprise, defining and redefining our understanding of what it means to be an educator, a learner, and to construct an effective learning environment. And yet, in the midst of this creation, we find ourselves wrestling with age-old dilemmas. The work of postsecondary education grows increasingly complex and complicated, at research universities and community colleges alike. The demands of competing agendas and the constraints of changing, if not often declining resources are matched only by the seemingly endless array of opportunities to promote learning and inquiry in their multiple forms and venues. In considering words written by Jeremy Cohen and John Roman when they assumed editorial responsibility for the Journal two years ago, I am struck not only by how much we have come to know about this multifaceted phenomenon called "general education" but also by how much more there is to know.

Problem-based learning, assessment of learning outcomes, how learning communities are developed and nurtured asynchronously and synchronously, the development of critical thinking skills, the growing percentage of students in need of developmental education support, team teaching, integrated thematic curricula, the meaning of multiculturalism, and cross-cultural competence constitute just a preliminary review of the issues facing those involved in undergraduate education. JGE provides a professional forum for discussion and knowledge dissemination around these issues. As administrators and faculty, we have the luxury of exploring an aspect of college and university life that transcends traditional disciplinary and organizational boundaries; the maps of discovery lead us in myriad paths of engaging intellectual debate. As a collective of practitioner- and teacher-scholars, we have the responsibility to pursue these explorations enthusiastically, to share our discoveries publicly, to foster improvement in the academy through analyzing theoretical and applied problems, and to advance the inquiry conversations in new directions.

The Journal's path has been forged under the recent leadership of Jeremy and John, James Ratcliff, and William Toombs. Its future is ours to define. On behalf of the Senior Editorial Staff of JGE and our dedicated Board members, I invite you to continue with us on this general education journey . . . and we hope you bring others along with you!

Sincerely,
Marilyn

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