As political science faculty at East Central University, a small teaching-oriented state school located in rural Oklahoma, we are constantly challenged to provide our students with novel approaches to learning. Oklahoma's traditionalistic political culture is demonstrated to us daily as our students seem to envision themselves as subjects of an inscrutable system rather than potent democratic actors. To enhance understanding of issues related to campaigns and elections, we developed a six-week simulation in which upper-level political science students participated as a candidate for the U.S. Senate, as a member of a campaign team, or as a member of the media. Approximately 200 of our Introduction to American Government students were called upon to be the voters in our simulation, a role for which many of our students cast the first ballots of their lives.

It is with the deepest regret that I report the death on January 15, 2004, of Wilma L. Rule who collaborated with me on a number of research projects relating to the election of women and members of certain minority groups to elective office in the United States and other nations. She was a long-time member and secretary-treasurer of the Section on Representation and Electoral Systems of The American Political Science Association whose members continue to appreciate her research and service to the profession.

On January 17, 2004, our friend and colleague, Jim Townsend, died peacefully in the midst of his family after a long illness. For many years a leading figure among China scholars, Jim received his Ph.D. from U.C. Berkeley in 1965. He was a member of the political science department at Berkeley between 1963 and 1968 when he moved to the University of Washington. He remained at the University of Washington until he retired prematurely in 1992 after a diagnosis of prostate cancer. Defying the odds, he continued to live a happy and productive life for more than a decade after his retirement, a decade during which he saw his beloved wife Sandy Perry through her own losing battle with breast cancer.

Academics and politicians alike decry the deterioration of trust in American political institutions and in political participation. One oft-cited culprit for this deterioration is the conduct of campaigns for elective office, with especial ire focused upon political consultants and the consulting industry. The lack of a civil campaign ethic, it is said, means that the largely unregulated nature of political combat and speech generates campaigns rife with ad hominem attacks and “negative” ads that disgust, discourage, and alienate prospective voters. In response, some parts of the consulting industry have attempted to inculcate a higher level of campaign conduct through candidate and professional campaign codes. Another response is based in the several university programs that offer graduate degrees in political or campaign management, which include varying degrees of training regarding ethical considerations in campaigns.

The Association's 2004 Nominating Committee convened at the national office and agreed upon the following slate of officers and Council members. Members of the Association will have an opportunity to meet the nominees at the 2004 Annual Meeting in Chicago. Elections will be held at the Business Meeting. The Annual Meeting Final Program will have the room location for each event.

The past two decades has seen a rising tide of criticism of American universities. This criticism is expressed in national reports, voter initiatives, legislative reports, and by employers and accrediting agencies who have concluded that there is “a crisis of educational quality in our nation's colleges and universities” (Gardiner 1998, 71–88) and that “a disturbing and dangerous mismatch exists between what American society needs from higher education and what it is receiving” (Wingspread Group on Higher Education 1993). From such criticisms, the assessment movement was born (see, for example, Diamond 1998; Palomba and Banta 1999; Allen 2004).

Marion Orr, Brown University

Marion Orr is professor of political science at Brown University. He previously was a member of the political science faculty at Duke University. He earned his B.A. degree in political science from Savannah State College, M.A. in political science from Atlanta University (now Clark-Atlanta University), and a Ph.D. in government and politics from the University of Maryland, College Park. He is affiliated with the Urban Studies Program and the A. Alfred Taubman Center for Public Policy and American Institutions at Brown University.

Mentoring is generally defined as a relationship involving guiding, nurturing, and teaching (both formally and informally) between individuals with differing degrees of experience (Adams 1998; Colwell 1998; Rowley 1999). The mentoring process, in and outside the walls of academia, is often cited as a key ingredient in the development of a successful career. However, for many Black women in academia their ability to benefit from mentoring relationships is particularly limited. As part of my involvement in the APSA Mentoring Task Force, I am exploring the concept of mentoring among Black women. I focus on Black women for several reasons. First, I am a member of this group and have a particular interest in exploring the nuances of mentoring. My identification with this group has made me privy to a number of discussions on mentoring, both positive and negative. Second, Black women represent 1.21% of the 4,126 tenure track professors, of which only nine are full professors (Kelly 2002, 22). The large majority of African Americans in the profession are concentrated among the ranks of associate (18 out of 1,230) and assistant professors (20 out of 1,038). The limited number Black women in the profession can result in a condition in which potential mentors are unavailable to junior scholars, or there are few opportunities to establish relationships. My purpose is not to focus on the problems of Black women in academia, instead it is to bring attention to a major issue, mentoring, which can enhance or limit the success of this group in the discipline. In this article, I interview five Black women at various stages in their careers. The interviewees include an undergraduate student, a graduate student (ABD), an assistant professor, an associate professor, and a retired professor. The goal of this article is to reveal the special demands of mentoring on this small minority in the discipline. However, much of the information revealed is useful for anyone interested in the mentoring process.

APSA celebrates its 100th Annual Meeting in 2004, returning to Chicago, site of the first Association gathering. Be sure to join us for this exciting meeting taking place September 2–5, 2004, and headquartered at the Hilton Chicago and Palmer House Hilton hotels.

A senior male faculty member in a political science department discovers that his wife has cancer. She will need to undergo a combination of chemotherapy and radiation treatments over the next six months, treatments that will require her traveling to, and remaining overnight at, a hospital that is a 3-hour drive from the campus. Their only child lives over a thousand miles away.