In planning this issue of the Newsletter, I looked back at last August's issue. I started off by saying that "much has occurred since the last issue of the Newsletter". These words again are very appropriate. I am sure you all know that Dale R. Corson was elected as the eighth president of Cornell by the Trustees soon after the Newsletter went out last August. President Corson had served as Provost of the University for a number of years before assuming the presidency. President Corson then called on Bob Plane, Chairman of the Chemistry Department, to serve as Provost. Bob decided to take the job as Acting Provost on a one-year basis. Because Bob would only be gone temporarily, it was decided to operate the Department with what I call a "troika". Instead of having a specific person as acting chairman, three people served in this capacity. These people were Don Cooke, Jerry Meinwald and Ben Widom. Just after Christmas, Bob Plane announced that he had decided to take the Provost's job on a permanent basis. This means that he will still be Professor of Chemistry and maintain a research group; but will be spending virtually full-time as Provost which, in effect, is second-in-command of the University. This is a considerable loss to the Department; but a gain for the University and we are very confident that Bob will do an excellent job. Upon assuming the permanent position of Provost, Bob Plane resigned as Chairman of the Chemistry Department. As you can tell from the Chairman's Column, the new Chairman of the Department is Gordon Hammes.