This is the culminating issue in a volume marking the 10th anniversary of the founding of the eJournal of Public Affairs. It is fitting, therefore, that the current issue gives renewed focus to our commitment to four pillars of content: civic engagement, education, research, and practice. Keeping with our traditional format, readers will find peer-reviewed research articles reporting on theoretical, quantitative, and qualitative efforts to help public-spirited academics and practitioners assess the impact of purposeful work in the world. The efforts captured by this transdisciplinary research represent community partnerships, state-level government, nationally oriented approaches, and global realities. Fine arts, humanities, and social and natural sciences each have a critical role in public life—and this is reflected in the connectivity of the work readers will encounter in this issue as a statement of our publishing mission.
In 10 years of bringing our readers research, reviews, and a diversity of story-driven content, the editorial guidance of the eJournal has responded to the depth and creativity of authors and guest editors. This issue has pushed us to allow more space for longer articles, so readers should be prepared to invest more of their own time and consideration of these ideas for use in their own work. It is worth noting that although this is an open submission issue, a common theme vitalizes each self-contained article: Evolving perspectives of civic engagement.
The problems of public life evolve. The work needed to address these problems democratically, through an informed and able citizenry, evolves. Research and reporting to present stories of success and setback evolve. Indeed, the eJournal has evolved throughout a decade of publication to meet those challenges. We believe readers will find this issue meaningful, and we look forward to the evolution that will sustain the life of this work. We thank readers for being part of the journey.
Authors
Andrew P. Lokie, Associate Professor in Library Science at Missouri State University, came to MSU to expand the instructional technology resources across the university. He served in similar capacities including Multimedia Producer at Ohio University, Director of Instructional Media Services at Bucknell University, and Director of the LRC- (Library and Media Services) at Broome Community College. As executive editor of the eJournal of Public Affairs and Director of Special Projects, has succeeded in its tenth year of publishing a scholarly journal and producing media and multimedia materials.
Darrell A. Hamlin is Associate Professor of Political Science at Fort Hays State University, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Civic Leadership at FHSU, and Managing Editor for the eJournal of Public Affairs. He previously served as Associate Professor of Criminal Justice at FHSU and as Assistant Professor of Political Science and Law at Spring Hill College. He holds a B.A. in American Studies from Baylor University and an M.A. and PhD in Political Science from Rutgers University.