James E. Rohrer, Ph.D., Professor and Chair, Department of Health Services, Research and Management, Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, Texas

The editor for this special issue of the Texas Journal of Rural Health is Professor Lu Ann Aday. Dr. Aday is a sociologist and health services researcher who has authored several important public health books and numerous articles. She is a very thoughtful and committed student of rural health, as readers will be able to discern as they review this issue of the Journal. Dr. Aday gave generously of her expertise, time, and considerable influence among her colleagues in order to assemble a provocative collection of manuscripts.

As my own contribution, let me offer a few thoughts for readers to keep in mind as they peruse this month's Journal. First, let me point out that the public health function of community health planning and the subfields of rural sociology and agricultural economics, typically residing in the liberal arts of programs of land grant universities, have struggled for many years to better understand the dynamics of rural development so that effective processes for improving quality of life in rural communities can be codified. Much has been learned, but many rural communities remain economically depressed and otherwise disadvantaged. Some that were healthy are facing imminent decline. Clearly, we in academe have not found the formula for success that rural communities require. Both the goals of rural development and the processes for achieving them must be reconceptualized. Dr. Aday has attempted to "think outside the box" by offering a new model for approaching the problem of rural development.

My second point pertains to the important distinction between straightforward economic development and the murkier concept of community development. Social epidemiologists have made a strong case for the importance of good jobs for community health. Good jobs require economic development. At the same time, not all industry improves the quality of life for employees, families, and neighbors. Sometimes, closure of a sawmill can result in improvements in the well-being of workers.

If money was all that mattered, the residents of rural areas would move to the big city where there are more "opportunities." But money is not all that matters. The challenges facing rural residents that seek to "develop" themselves are more fundamental in nature: they must decide what matters to the people who live there. Once their shared values are clearly articulated, perhaps strategies can be developed to achieve them. But if we don't know where we are going, mapping the route is difficult indeed.