Patterns in Higher Education Development

The Review ofHigher Education Fall 1991, Volume 15, No. 1 Pages 1-7 Copyright © 1991 Association for the Study of Higher Education All Rights Reserved (ISSN 0162-5748) F r o m t h e E d i t o r Patterns in Higher Education Development Joan S. Stark Although you will not read this text until autumn leaves begin to fall, I am writing it on May 1, 1991, just as the spring leaves are emerging in the northern Midwest. As the softening weather trig­ gers spring fever in students and faculty alike, I find myself restless with enthusiasm for a new challenge. Today, I am privileged to become editor of The Review of Higher Educatwn. L. Jackson Newell, the retiring editor, and I have worked together for several weeks as master and apprentice while I learned how the Review takes shape a full six months before it reaches its readers. I know that ASHE members have appreciated Jack's five-year service as editor and regret his decision to step down. I can assure you, however, that the keenest sense of loss was mine as my instruction was completed and I set forth on my own. During these past few months as I contemplated the tasks facing me as editor, I was having difficulty identifying my feelings about this new role. But when I reread Jack's final comments as editor (Volume 14, No. 1) where he referred to the Review's maturing, I recognized my feelings. I'd probably have the same mixture of emotions if I were adopting a youth in his or her middle teens. The Review of Higher Education is fourteen years old with this issue and stands on the brink of adulthood. Like the emeiging adolescent, the journal has already passed through the most formative years, devel­ 2 Fall 1991 Volume 15, No. l oping individuality and a reputation. Still, these attributes remain somewhat fluid and can change for good or ill. Like the new adop­ tive parent, the new editor must preserve the excellent qualities that have been nurtured by others, while simultaneously meeting future challenges that cannot easily be predicted or controlled. Is it any wonder that I feel hope, challenge, commitment, and apprehension? Carrying this analogy a step further, let me suggest several roles that the adoptive parent and the new editor share. The first is that of guardian. Just as the good qualities in the young person can be credited to his or her guardians in the past, the journal has grown and prospered under three previous editors, Samuel Kellams, John Smart, and Jack Newell. Each has fostered growth toward maturity, and I must ensure that this steady progress is sustained. As the new editor I pledge to protect the "discourse of a learned society" that Jack wrote about when he became editor five years ago. This means preserving the journal's current high standards of rigorous scholar­ ship, publishing carefully refereed and edited articles, continuing to use anonymous review, and expediting responses to prospective authors. It is my good fortune that John Creswell, University of Nebraska, now in his third year as a member of the Editorial Board, and Marsha Krotseng, University of Hartford, recently a member of the ASHE Board of Directors, have agreed to join me as associate editors to help develop new editorial initiatives and sustain high quality. I am also pleased that David Leslie, from Florida State University and a past president of ASHE, has agreed to become the Review Essay editor, carrying on a strong tradition of scholarly discourse (both volunteered and solicited) about timely books and issues. Our editorial team retains our excellent copy editor, Dr. Lavina Fielding Anderson of Salt Lake City, and adds my long-time executive secretary, Linda Stiles, who will now devote one-quarter of her time to the Review, courtesy of the University of Michigan. The second role is that of mentor. The Association for the Study of Higher Education has played the mentor role well by encouraging doctoral students and recent graduates to present their work at the annual conference. The Review often carries on at that point to help young scholars move from dissertation to...