CATALYST V21N4 - Editor's Page
Editor's Page
Darrel A. Clowes
This issue contains the theme "Celebrating 20 Years" in recognition of the first 20 years of the Catalyst. The Summer 1991 issue featured six articles that represented the debate over the role and mission of community services and continuing education in the community college. The review panel of past editors also selected six other articles as most significant. Upon reflection, it is apparent that these represent three key facets of the field: lifelong learning as an underlying philosophy behind CS/CE, the history of the Council as it represented the political realities of CS/CE, and the pragmatic dimension of organizing and administrating a program. We offer these six articles again in the belief that their historical value is equalled or exceeded by their relevance today.
The articles in this and the previous issue represent what this panel regarded as the "most significant" articles of the first 20 years. We can all take pride in the strength of the field and of the journal representing it. This was brought home to me as I saw how difficult it was to identify the "best" of the approximately 500 articles published. Lifelong learning is represented by articles written by two of the renowned figures in the field: Erv Harlacher and K. Patricia Cross. We were fortunate to have them as colleagues and to present some of their best and still powerful writing. History and politics of the National Council are developed in the next two articles. George Traicoff described the early stages of the council in the first issue of the Catalyst. George Vaughan followed that up over a decade later by placing CS/CE in the context of the developing community college movement. We conclude this second commemorative issue with two pragmatic articles. Ben Wygal used his perspective as a college president and as a leading theoretician on community education to discuss organizational issues as instances of horizontal and vertical integration. Haynes and Polk stress the importance of a clear mission for CS/CE to allow integration into the balance of the institution.
From many perspectives these authors illustrate the role of the Catalyst in illuminating the issues and insights of the day and provide continuing light for us as we look to today's issues and opportunities.