From the Editor

Greeting to all members of the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education (AIAEE) and to all readers of the Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education (JIAEE)! The end of 2006 is near, but I remain hopeful that you have accomplished your annual goals. This year has brought new changes to the AIAEE, namely a restructuring of our constitution and bylaws. Have you educated yourself about the new changes? I encourage all AIAEE members review the changes posted on our organization’s Web site and to become actively involved in advancing our profession.

The second contribution to the JIAEE Seminal Article Series, an annual scholarly event designed to encourage debate within the AIAEE, was provided by Dr. Burton E. Swanson, Professor Emeritus of Rural Development at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. It took effort to convince Dr. Swanson to postpone his “practice” of the strategies presented in this article long enough to author his thoughts about them for this issue. Please read and discuss the seminal article, “The Changing Role of Agricultural Extension in a Global Economy,” with your colleagues and fellow AIAEE members. The article is centered on decentralized, market-driven, extension strategies that have increased small- and medium-scale farm household incomes in China and India. Given the potential for international agricultural and extension education with those two countries, we have much to gain from Dr. Swanson’s extensive experiences shared in this seminal article.

It has been an adventurous journey as editor of the JIAEE, but all good things must come to an end. I will fulfill my second term as editor with the conclusion of next year’s volume (14). Therefore, I ask you to consider a very important matter. According to the bylaws, the AIAEE announces a Call for Editor for the JIAEE. Please find complete details on page 107 in this issue. A search committee is being formed, applications should be submitted, and an official announcement of the new editor will occur at our next annual conference in Polson, Montana. You can learn more about the AIAEE Conference in Polson by visiting our Web site at http://www.aiaee.org/conferences.html

Thank you to all contributors (pp. 108-109), reviewers (pp. 110-111), and board members (pp. 2-3) who made JIAEE Volume 13 live up to its scholarly standards. Included in this issue are eight articles (seven feature and one tools of the profession), made possible through your scholarship and the untiring service of all peer reviewers. Thank you to all JIAEE contributors, reviewers, and board members for assisting in the production of another volume of scholarship. Enjoy this fall issue and continue doing what you can to promote greater understanding of agricultural and extension education worldwide.

Sincerely,

Gary J. Wingenbach, Editor

Journal of International Agricultural and Extension Education