This past spring, with the approval of APSA President Susanne Rudolph and under theguidance of President-Elect Margaret Levi, a subgroup of the APSA Council formulated a setof recommendations for the Association with regard to its “public presence”—or activitiesthat sought to raise the public profile of political science research and illustrate itsutility for larger public debates. The intent behind the recommendations was to guide thedevelopment of resources for the media and broader public in specific areas that were ofdirect relevance to the 2004 U.S. elections. The group's recommendations resulted in thereorganization of APSA staff to create a new position: Director, International and ExternalRelations.