Editor’s Comments
Kathryn Pole, Ph.D.
It has been five years since I accepted the position of Editor of The Missouri Reader. With this issue, it's time
for me to say "farewell." It's been a most rewarding experience working on a journal that has come to be
recognized for the quality of its manuscripts. I am proud of the work we've done. I'll be leaving Missouri
to take a position in Texas – one that brings me closer to family and new opportunities.
As Editor, I wanted to provide a journal that addressed the needs of the wide membership of the Missouri
Council of the International Reading Association – the teachers, students, and university-based people we
serve. I think we've succeeded – I was always impressed with the wide range of articles we'd receive for
each issue. Sometimes we had difficult decisions because there were so many good manuscripts – and when
we switched to being an online journal, I was thrilled that we weren't as limited by page numbers. I enjoyed
reading each of the manuscripts, enjoyed reading reviewer comments, and especially enjoyed the e-mails I'd
receive from members that let me know that others enjoyed the journal too!
I am really grateful for the opportunity to serve you and to learn so much about the process of producing a
high-quality journal. I've worked with some incredible people, and it has been a great pleasure for me. So
many people have given support to me – the members of the Executive Board of the Missouri Council, the
amazing members of the Editorial Review Board of The Missouri Reader, the authors of the manuscripts we
published, Beth Hurst, who helped by proofreading some issues, and a former Chair of my Department at
Saint Louis University, who provided me with funds for a graduate assistant to help with the work of
producing such a journal. I am truly thankful for that graduate student, the now Dr. Keisha Panagos, who
gradually worked her way from being clerical help to at this point being completely capable of making the
biggest decisions that go into this journal. I am pleased to announce that the Board of the Missouri Council
of the International Reading Association has unanimously named Keisha as the new Editor of The Missouri
Reader! I