Dang, what a year – right? Whatever you expected from the 2025-2026 academic year, you had more than your fair share of surprises. I genuinely hope that some of them were pleasant. I am confident some of them were not. That said, you did what you did in the ways that you thought were best. Now is the time that we get ready to do it all over again.
My hope is that you don’t enter into the future work with a sense of dread, but with a sense of hope. One of my favorite quotes comes from Howard Zinn in his autobiography, You Can’t Be Neutral on a Moving Train. In it, he writes,
To be hopeful in bad times is not just foolishly romantic. It is based on the fact that human history is a history not only of cruelty, but also of compassion, sacrifice, courage, kindness. What we choose to emphasize in this complex history will determine our lives. If we see only the worst, it destroys our capacity to do something. If we remember those times and places—and there are so many—where people have behaved magnificently, this gives us the energy to act, and at least the possibility of sending this spinning top of a world in a different direction. And if we do act, in however small a way, we don’t have to wait for some grand utopian future. The future is an infinite succession of presents, and to live now as we think human beings should live, in defiance of all that is bad around us, is itself a marvelous victory.
I hope you both saw and extended compassion and kindness this year. I hope that you are able to remember lots of people who behaved magnificently in your life and work. I hope that you are able to find inspiration from those around you to bring joy to those around you as you navigate your infinite succession of presents. There is work to do. We have wonderful people to do the work with.
You will find a theme of hope in community in this issue of Developments – graduate student communities that have lasted the test of time, the power of Sista Circles in action, and ways to welcome and intentionally include international students. You will find hope as authors give us tools to deal with challenges related to artificial intelligence, the white noise around race on campus, and the role of law as a tool for justice in education. The issue closes with a poem about the hopes we have for students when they arrive on campus and the hope they inspire in us as they move through higher education.
All the best in the weeks and months to come. Thank you for all you do – what is seen and noticed and the bulk of your work that happens behind the scenes. Keep your manuscripts and ideas coming. As this issue exemplifies, you all have so much that can help other practitioners, students, administrators, and collaborators.
Have a good summer.
Michelle Boettcher
Developments Editor