Editorial Notes

"Learning Outcomes Assessment": three words that strike terror in the hearts of departments undergoing review, proposing new curricula, or dealing with general education issues. As with most of you, I, too, dread these sorts of things in the academy: "babble words" that take on a life of their own and become the pretext for a lot of busywork and hoop-jumping. However, my view of learning outcomes has changed; maybe it's the fact that age 50 looms near, or that I just got married, or that I barely survived a 4-ton slab of granite falling on me, or that I spent last semester in a hydrocodone-induced state of rapture. Whatever it is, I seem to be in a reflective mood and therefore will take the opportunity to review the Yearbook.

What is the expected outcome of the Yearbook? Now that I've completed eight volumes, a number equaling the likes of Joe Spencer, Frances Earle, John Gaines, and James Scott, I'm beginning to get an idea. I would hope that the Yearbook fulfills at least four goals. At its basic level, the Yearbook provides a record of the annual meetings, reproducing the Abstracts, Meeting Report, Resolutions, and Awards. As such, it creates a permanent repository of the strength of APCG as an organization. The Yearbook also provides a venue for authors at two career stages. It should come as no surprise that I fully support publishing articles by scholars just starting out (e.g., students at various levels or young faculty trying to get those all important vita lines); but I also see great value in reflections from faculty nearing retirement who have a lifetime of accumulated knowledge and experience, but whose writings may not fit the editorial strictures of more staid publications.

Furthermore, I hope that the Yearbook serves as a source of information, inspiration, and enrichment to members of the APCG. The pieces in this volume, for example, contain not only an incredible amount of information, but represent scholarship that is relevant, meaningful, and downright fun to read! Finally, the move by the University of Hawai'i Press to include the Yearbook in project MUSE will expose the publication to a far wider potential readership. I could imagine that non-geographers glancing at the Yearbook would find much more interesting material than is contained in some other geographic publications. All in all, I like the Yearbook and look forward to a couple more years at the helm.

Helping me in this task are a number of individuals who deserve special mention. First, I wish to thank Robert Provin, who served as Graphics Editor for several years. Robert performed many thankless tasks, including revising and even redrawing maps and diagrams. His position is being filled by David Deis. I wish also to thank other members of the Editorial Board and all of the contributors to this volume. Finally, my sincere thanks again go to Rick Cooper for his continued outstanding copyediting and production work.