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WE SAY GOODBYE TO OLD FRIENDS With the recent IASCE election, we welcomed several new board members to our organization. But, as with all things, these new spaces were created by the "retirement" of several long-time, committed IASCE board members. Elizabeth Cohen, creator of Complex Instruction (CI), long-time board member, meeting-facilitator, wise woman, and nurturer will be missed by many in the organization, particularly at board meetings. Elizabeth is remembered by her IASCE colleagues as someone who facilitated board meetings with grace and an iron hand in a velvet glove, forcing us forward and nurturing us all the way. She is described as "analytical," "gracious" and a role model for many in cooperative learning. Her important work about issues of status and heterogeneity within cooperative learning reminds us that groups are complex and that putting kids together and hoping for the best is never enough! Colleagues in Israel, Canada, and the Netherlands (as well as the U.S.) remember Liz for the important contributions she made to the field and to the organization. We will carry on in your spirit! Liana Forest served as Executive Director and in many other capacities, but she is most appreciated as our committed, dedicated newsletter and then, magazine editor. Liana managed to keep the magazine alive and beautiful and informative under a series of seemingly impossible conditions. She did this with grace, compassion and good humor, even when she and the organization were stretched and stressed. The Cooperative Learning Magazine is a publication of which we can all be proud, and we owe most of that accomplishment to Liana. Liana's own work in cooperative learning and creativity, combining music, art, and movement as part of her pedagogy, was always combined with a sincere dedication to and to improving education. Colleagues call her "dedicated," "thorough," "hard-working," and someone who goes "beyond the call of duty." Liana, we salute you. Neil Davidson's contributions to cooperative learning, particularly at the post-secondary level and in the field of mathematics have been important to the organization and to the field. Neil's generous donation of his royalties has helped to sustain the organization during hard time and is a measure of his loyalty to IASCE. Neil's gentleness and warmth tend to improve any gathering of which he is a part; one colleague remarked that Neil has shown us the power of warmth and humor and that "you don't have to knock people over the heard with your ideas!" Neil, we'll miss your sweetness and your intelligence. Carole Cooper, our international traveler, has made an impact on cooperative learning on two continents -- North America and Australia. Carole had the ability to help us see the "big picture," and to recognize that cooperative learning could play a part in global education and restructuring. We will miss your energy, your dynamic presentations, and your depth of experience on the board. Peggy McCabe represented much of the "spirit" of our organization. Her warmth and caring were obvious in everything that she wrote about cooperative learning, in her editing work and in her interactions with colleagues. Even when her own life was very complicated, she managed to support others and make contributions to the board and its direction. Peggy, we will miss your cheerful posts and will always be grateful you were "out there."
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