Although this number of the JGL marks my official debut as Chair of the JGL Editorial Committee, Ilana Mezhevich (Editorial and Production Assistant) and I were also responsible for JGL 16.4. Our goal was to take over the Journal by stealth, for clearly the best editorial transition is one that is seamless and invisible. Although this might seem a modest goal, maintaining the high standards of editorial excellence established by Mark Louden and his predecessor, Paul Roberge, proved a much greater challenge than I could possibly have imagined.

I have learned quickly that one of the most pleasurable aspects of my new job is being a member of a hardworking team. In this regard, I would first like to express my gratitude to the members of the Editorial Committee and the Advisory Board, whose hard work makes this journal possible. I would especially like to thank Sarah Fagan, who has been Review Editor since the JGL's inaugural issue four years ago (JGL 13.1). In fact, Sarah has provided almost a decade of service as Review Editor, since she also served the American Journal of Germanic Linguistics and Literatures in this capacity for five years beginning in 1995. In addition, an enormous bouquet of gratitude goes to outgoing Editor, Mark Louden. His leadership over the past years has been instrumental in the JGL's ongoing transformation into the high quality journal it has become, and I am very grateful that Mark has agreed to remain on the Editorial Board as Consulting Editor. I freely attest to the fact that this position is not simply an honorary one. I have already lost track of the number of emails I have sent to Mark requesting his advice on an endless range of issues. Finally, though, we should remember that the JGL is just entering its fifth year, and its genesis was possible only through the dedicated efforts of a number of individuals. In this regard, we must above all extend our gratitude to outgoing Consulting Editor, Paul Roberge. As Mark Louden observed in the JGL's inaugural number (vol. 13.1, p. 1), “any future success of the JGL will be built on the base created under [Paul Roberge's] leadership.”

A positive aspect of many transitions is the new faces that appear on the scene. In this regard, I am very pleased to welcome Richard Page (Pennsylvania State University) as Review Editor and Ilana Mezhevich, a doctoral student at the University of Calgary, as Editorial and Production Assistant. Both have already demonstrated a dedication beyond the call of duty, and I am particularly grateful to Ilana for applying her impressive editorial skills with such enthusiasm.

I would also like to announce that the JGL now has a dedicated email address: jgl@ucalgary.ca. Of course, the members of the Editorial Committee can still be reached by means of their individual email addresses. In addition, David Fertig (SUNY, Buffalo), who is kindly maintaining the Web site for the Society for Germanic Linguistics, has posted the JGL's revised Submission Guidelines at: http://german.lss.wisc.edu/~sgl/journal.html#art).

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the support provided to the JGL by the University of Calgary. I am particularly grateful to two individuals: Stephen Randall, Dean of Social Sciences, for contributing to the funding of the Editorial and Production Assistant, and Nicholas Žekulin, Director of the Language Research Center, for providing office and computer support for the production of the Journal.