From the Editor

Happy autumn, and welcome to the Fall Issue of Developments.  There are many intriguing and thought-provoking articles in this Issue. I hope you will take time to engage with the scholarship, reflect on the Discussion Questions within each article, and  connect with other scholars and practitioners in the field about the important and broad topics traversed in this Issue. Developments has always worked to ensure that we live up to our mission: Stimulate your thinking. Enhance your work.

To better accomplish this task, and reach a wider audience, we are jumping into the 21st century this week.  Our first Twitter Chat with Scholars who have published in Developments will be this Friday, September 19, 2014 beginning at 12PM EST.  Kate Mazal, author of “Muslim Students in Higher Education,” which appears in the Research and Assessment section of this Issue, will be available to answer questions, highlight her scholarship, and challenge us to enhance our work on campuses in the United States and around the world.  Those interested in particpating can follow the hashtag #ACPADevChat starting at 12PM EST this Friday.  Effectively using technology to engage, connect, and stimulate our thinking and practice will be one of several new initiatives our publication pushes this year. Look for the dates and times of future chats this fall, and engage regularly with others using the hashtag #ACPADev.

Our publication editorial board is undergoing some transition this Fall as the terms of a few individuals come to an end.  I would like to personally thank Amanda Suniti Niskode-Dossett who will be cycling off as Associate Editor of Series next month.  Amanda is also the former Editor of Developments and has dedicated many years of professional service to enhancing the status and quality of this publication.  For some of us, it is hard to imagine Developments without her: Thank you Amanda for your many years of dedication, your always thoughtful and engaging questions and feedback, and your guidance, mentorship, and professionalism.  We will miss you greatly.  I would also like to thank our outgoing copy editors: Elizabeth Jach, Scott Wojciechowski, and Sarah Laux.  Each of these individuals has committed countless hours to ensuring the success of our publication.

After a short transitional hiatus, we are happy to once again have our Ethical Issues column back in print.  I would like to welcome to our Featured Columnist team Dr. Anne Hornak of Central Michigan University and Dr. Jonathan O’Brien of California State University Long Beach.  Drs. Hornak and O’Brien will be rotating in their writing of the column. Each brings to this column different theoretical and empirical approaches to understanding ethical professional practice.  In this Issue, Dr. Hornak challenges us to think through the many “dual relationships” inherent in the profession of student affairs, while also providing a pragmatic decision-making model regarding ethicality in personal and professional relationships that often cross boundaries.

As always, our other featured columnists do not disappoint in their wide range of important topics.  Neal Hutchens’ piece on the Legal Background surrounding Student Athlete unionization provides practitioners in the field with important insights not only on the current issues unfolding at Nortwestern University in Chicago, but also the history of the legal movement for unionization on college campuses.  It is important reading for all practitioners seeking to understand university-employee relationships and legal obligations, and importantly, how the legal system defines employee.  Marisa Vernon explores the possibilities of working at a community or two-year college, encouraging professionals who may not have considered this option to join the teams of these important and growing institutions in the United States.  Jason Lane questions how we think of retention regarding international students, highlighting some empirical research that may assist colleges and universities in ensuring their international student populations are being served educationally and socially while also being retained.

We conclude our Series on Internationalization and Tertiary Education with the third installment focused on implementation of International Education efforts on campus.  In our Perspectives section, Dr. Rene Couture highlights the guilt associated with the transition from practitioner to faculty member.  We do not have much scholarship that focuses on the role of faculty, so I hope this piece will assist some of our new faculty colleagues in the field as they work through their transitions this fall.

Best wishes for a successful Autumn semester on your campus!