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Candor and freedom of speech are essential to the life of a university. The Academic Exchange was established in 1998 in response to repeated calls from faculty members for a stronger, richer intellectual climate at Emory and a more dynamic scholarly community. With its coverage of research issues, pedagogical concerns, and university governance, the Exchange strives to balance reporting and opinion on faculty work and thought at Emory. It also offers information on selected publications and campus events that might serve as a springboard for community-wide discussion.

The Academic Exchange is first and foremost a published forum for ongoing intellectual discourse among faculty colleagues, where vigorous, candid, and civil engagement on scholarly and academic pursuits may flourish. Published six times per year, this journal consists of opinion and reporting on issues of faculty life and thought at Emory. Faculty members are invited and encouraged to contribute their perspectives via a range of approaches and formats, from submitting a completed essay to working with a writer to present ideas in interview format.

The Academic Exchange also has an on-line component, with a web site that offers content not appearing in the print publication, and a by-subscription listserv, AEWeekly, a weekly email supplement to the publication during the academic year.

The Academic Exchange is also devoted to enriching Emory's intellectual climate by co-sponsoring special events, such as small-group faculty discussions on particular topics with distinguished scholars visiting the campus. For more information, contact the editors.

Our policy is to turn frequently to the community for topic suggestions for future issues. We invite and encourage faculty colleagues to contribute their perspectives. Letters in response to articles and essays are also welcome and will not be published without the author's permission. Contact the managing editor for particulars on deadlines and submissions.

Because its primary audience is Emory faculty, this publication will strive for an intelligent common language that is neither jargon-ridden and technical nor overly popularizing and reductive. Our goal is to strike a balance between precision and accessibility. Similarly, discourse in the Academic Exchange will reach toward dialogue rather than dichotomy. We request that contributors attend to disagreements in a context of mutual respect and civility.

We hope readers of the Academic Exchange will use the publication to participate in thoughtful and spirited inquiry that will help grow and sustain a lively intellectual community.