Anna J. Harrison Board of Directors American Chemical Society
Past, Prologue to the ~uture ,
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Today we celebrate a living legacy, T H E JOURNAL OF CHEMICAL EDUCATION, and honor Tom Lippincott, an editor, who has heen so instrumental in its growth. In doing so, we also recognize the editors who have pieceded him.lt was my privilege to he on the Board of Publication of the .Journal a t the time Tom became the Editor and 1 recopnize, in particular, Bill Kieffer, the previous editor, for his role in the development of the JOURNAL and his role in the identification of Tom Lippincott as an individual to he considered in the selection of his successor. technological capabilities and the escalation of our responsihilitirs to the total puhlic. Roth have occurred at nnpreced e n t ~ drates.
Tom has been exceptionally perceptive in recognizing the implications of hnth changes for chemical education. The first, the expansinn of our scientific and technological capabilities, imposes an overlrrad of technical materials to he assimilated in our education systems and in so doing, fosters specializatiim. The second, the escalation of responsibilities to the total puhlic, demands education in the sciences for a wider audience and requires greater hreadth in education for scientists if we are to underst.and the social, economic, and political environment within which we must meet our responsibilities to the total puhlic. Tom has shared his perceptions of these developments in explicit and eloquent editorials and in many more suhtle ways in his role as Editor. In so doing, he st,ructured a present that is now the past, a past that is a valued prologue to the fntwe.
Volume 57, Number 1. January 1980 1 7