This is the first Newsletter issued by the Carl Albert Center, edited by Ron Peters, and co-edited by Gary Copeland and Allen Hertzke. We are very pleased with this transition, and delighted that Burdett Loomis is continuing as "Extension of Remarks" editor. I wish to thank again Keith Hamm and Rice University for the effort and support over the past few years. As always, we appreciate any recommendations that you may have regarding the content of the Newsletter. 

The founders of LSS had foresight. Here we are in 1998, boasting 600 members and an outstanding newsletter that serves us all with timely reports, announcements, and communications. Also, as a section we have for years recognized Legislative Studies Quarterly as our journal, and many of our members publish their work in it. We also affect our national meetings by recommending the program section chair on legislative studies, who then arranges for our panels and assures our participation in the program. For these accomplishments I thank all of our predecessors, and more immediately I thank Bruce Oppenheimer and the other outgoing and continuing officers and committee members for their efforts in behalf of LSS. 

One other function of our section, too often overlooked, is to recognize outstanding scholarship. I have observed that political science gives out very few awards compared to many other disciplines. The sections can help remedy the problem. We have the Fenno Prize for the best book of the year, the CQ Press Award for the best convention paper, and now for the first time, we have the Carl Albert Award for the Best Dissertation. The award is sponsored and funded by the Carl Albert Center at the University of Oklahoma, whereas the recipient is determined by an independent committee appointed by the chair of LSS. 

I think we are at the point where we can voice our collective and professional needs for scholarly and research support (e.g., as in the successful efforts in encouraging ICPSR to update Congressional data files). Let me know about any concerns of this kind. E-mail: wlf@nervm.nerdc.ufl.edu.