Introduction

When Padraig O\u27Malley informed me that the New England Journal of Public Policy that he edited so wisely and well for nearly 25 years was about to resume publication—albeit, electronically—I was thrilled and really overjoyed. As a new (interim) dean of a school of policy and global studies at a public research university, who wouldn\u27t be excited about re-launching a journal that has been a crossroads between the academy and policymakers, a meeting ground between theory and politics, a safe place to explore relevant ideas that matter from a variety of valued perspectives? The prior forty-one issues of the New England Journal of Public Policy have tackled topics ranging from AIDS and homelessness to regional economic recovery; to just wars and women in politics. The four hundred contributing authors have ranged from serious scholars to path-breaking practitioners. What rings through across topics is openness to both new ideas and reality as lived on the ground, and a desire to courageously tackle some of the biggest and most intractable and even uncomfortable issues of our time. In reading past issues, I sense a normative approach that explicitly seeks to make our world, both locally and nationally, not only better understood, but also more equitable and just. Nothing could better exemplify our mission as a school