Pillarisetti Sudhir, the editor of Perspectives on History, has decided to retire at the end of the year. Associate Editor Allen Mikaelian will step up to take his place effective with the January 2013 issue.

Sudhir first started at the AHA in May 1996, after earning a PhD at the University of London and teaching in India and as an adjunct at George Mason University. After brief stints as assistant editor, and then managing editor, of Perspectives, he was promoted to be editor of the newsmagazine in 2001. During his tenure, Perpectives on History evolved from a newsletter with a few feature articles into a substantial magazine, with a more expansive array of feature articles on all aspects of historical practice. With Sudhir's light-handed guidance, the Perspectives production team was able over the past several years to transform the newsmagazine into a popular journal of repute and utility.

Sudhir's final task as editor will be to collaborate with guest editor Lynn Hunt (UCLA) to produce the December 2012 issue of Perspectives on History. This special issue, which will be commemorating the 50th anniversary of the launch of the AHA's newsletter in December 1962, will focus on the theme, "The Future of History." It will go into the mail in the last week of November and will be published online soon after that. Members attending the 2013 annual meeting are invited to join us at the AHA exhibit booth in New Orleans at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, January 5, 2013, to celebrate the anniversary as well as to acknowledge Sudhir's services to the AHA.

Allen joined the AHA in March 2012, bringing with him experience as writer and researcher in a variety of capacities and as an editor at a mid-size non-fiction book publisher. He is also the author of the New York Times bestseller, Medal of Honor: Profiles of America's Military Heroes from the Civil War to the Present (Hyperion Books, 2002). He earned his MA with the book history program at the Institute for English Studies, University of London, and is currently completing a dissertation on globalization, cosmopolitanism, and international students in early 20th-century America at American University. He has taught as an adjunct lecturer at AU and as an adult basic education instructor and program manager in Washington, DC.

Because of Allen's impending promotion, we are seeking to recruit a new associate editor.

Alongside the changes at Perspectives on History, we are also welcoming Vanessa Varin as the AHA's assistant editor for web and social media. Vanessa joins us from Louisiana State University, where she recently completed a Master's degree in American history and information science. She also served as president of the History Graduate Student Association there, and as a graduate assistant at the Hill Memorial Library.