SIS Graduate Student Body,

On behalf of the Journal’s editorial staff, I would like to take a moment to issue a warm thank you to everyone who submitted their papers as candidates for publication in our forthcoming Fall 2009 issue. With the help of the faculty, graduate student council, and advising department, we have successfully attracted what can only be described as an exemplary pool of submissions. Over the next month, our staff will be reading papers around the clock to determine which best represent the high-caliber writing that SIS graduate students are known to demonstrate in both the academic and professional community. I assure you that our combined efforts will yield an issue of the Journal of International Service that every member of the SIS community will be proud to put his or her name behind. Until then, I encourage each of you to keep the Journal’s spring submission process in mind when completing papers this semester.

With that in mind, I would like to draw your attention to the fact that the Journal of International Service is more than a publication – it is an organization of active, motivated students determined to increase the quality of your time spent as a graduate student at SIS. We are in the process of creating a website that will serve as more than an additional source for the printed journal; rather, we are creating a site that will serve as a forum for students’ ideas on pressing intellectual topics within the realm of International Affairs. We accept article submissions for our website on a rolling basis, and these articles can be shorter and less academically-rigorous than those in the print addition. We are creating staff profiles so you can get to know the JIS staff a little bit better. Most importantly, the website will be the primary method of informing the student body about our annual Spring Symposium, which we have decided this year to devote to the pressing issue of Energy Security. We are in the process of attracting an unparalleled panel of experts on the issue and will be pleased to present the event to you on AU’s campus on Friday, January 29th at 5pm. Please watch the website for more information as we determine the final details.

Thank you again for your past submissions, and please email any future submissions, web articles, and general comments to us.

Most Sincerely,

Emily Sarah Hersh
Editor-in-Chief