Comments from the Editors

In this issue, we would like to announce that after seven years, Donald Swenson is stepping down as Editor.

Don kept pace with the growth and changes at the JCFS, always embracing such efforts with enthusiasm. The first major change was our move to Trinity Western University in British Columbia. Most recently, in 2019, we moved our subscription services and publishing to University of Toronto Press.

Although his five-year term was to end, Don kindly extended his time at JCFS to allow for these two pivotal years of transition. We greatly appreciated how this allowed us to have the stability of the same Editor at the helm in the midst of major structural adjustments. Don was always enthusiastic with any changes, and keen to help the Journal and its plans for the future.

One of our mandates at JCFS is to devote time to scholars who may lack the mentorship those in the developed world are fortunate to enjoy. Don was always conscious of this effort as Editor, and frequently gave such scholars extra time devoted to improving their manuscripts. This encouragement was framed to assist new scholars, and for those where English was not their first language. Dr. George Kurian, the founder of JCFS, was especially proud this mandate was embraced so wholeheartedly by Dr. Swenson.

Although Don was awarded emeritus status at Mount Royal University in 2016, he will continue to teach well into the 2020 academic year, so retirement is not in his plans just yet. We will miss his consistently supportive and pleasant nature, a strong rudder during times of change. The Editors are grateful for his dedicated service to the Journal of Comparative Family Studies over the past seven years, and wish him the best in the years ahead.

With Don's departure, we are pleased announce that Dr. James M. White will serve as Interim Editor. Dr. White, emeritus from the University of British Columbia, is a distinguished family scholar, and was the Editor for JCFS before Don Swenson joined the team. We welcome back Dr. White, and appreciate his assistance as we move once again to a new phase at the Journal of Comparative Family Studies.