Dear Reader,

Extension agents and specialists are often called "agents of change," an apt description of Extension work. However, we don't have a handy term for the changes that are occurring within the Extension System.

This issue of your Journal of Extension reflects some of the changes going on. For instance, there's a great article from Penn State about integrating Extension into graduate education in forestry. The topic seems particularly pertinent as our universities seek to integrate Extension more into departments and colleges.

Another example of how Extension programs have changed is reflected in the Illinois piece about education for minority entrepreneurs, a topic few would have seen in an Extension program not many years ago.

The use of technology is reflected in the article about using database software in natural resource education. Changes in agricultural programs are seen in articles about IPM and the role of market research in agricultural production and processing.

And, of course, there's a provocative look at administrative theory.

Enjoy your Journal of Extension and I hope you get some new ideas from this and other issues. In the meantime, best wishes for a great 1998.

Len Calvert, editor

This article is online at http://www.joe.org/joe/1997december/ed1.html.

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