In “Unlikely Candidates,� reporter Ann Farmer documents how community colleges are going outside academe to mine a dynamic strata of senior-level talent. Community colleges are finding that some nontraditional avenues can offer a plethora of talent in fields such as information technology, project management and executive leadership. Search committees say recruiting from the private sector can be difficult, since most of the desirable candidates are not willing to take a cut in pay to come to a community college.

And in our ongoing coverage of Hurricane Katrina’s impact on New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, senior writer Ronald Roach reports on how environmental justice advocates and scholars have renewed their focus to make sure environmental standards are met during the rebuilding process. As one example, scholar-advocate Dr. Beverly Wright, director of the Deep South Center for Environmental Justice at Dillard University, has honed her organization’s investigative skills by working with community groups in what is known as “Cancer Alley.� An 80-mile route between New Orleans and Baton Rouge, La., “Cancer Alley� is where poor Black communities have for decades endured a disproportionate amount of exposure to environmental contamination. Wright, and her colleagues like Dr. Robert D. Bullard, director of the Environmental Justice Resource Center at Clark Atlanta University, are trying to ensure that the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina does not spawn dozens of “Cancer Alleys� throughout the Gulf Coast.

Hilary Hurd Anyaso
Editor