Editor’s Farewell

Dear Readers,

As the Pardee Atlas’ sixth year comes to a close, so too does my time as its fifth Editor-in-Chief.

It has been my honor to lead this publication through the past year, and I want to again thank the previous Editor-in-Chief, Lexi Moran, for first bringing me onto the publication as an editor and website manager, and for then giving me the opportunity to carry the Atlas forward.

I have strived to keep the publication as healthy and strong as possible. At the very beginning of my term, I refreshed and cleaned up the website, streamlined the guidelines for our publications, and did a little research into our predecessor publication, the Pardee Periodical. Though I hoped to get all of the Periodical’s content onto the Atlas site, due to content rights concerns this wasn’t to be—but we can at least access the archived form of the Periodical from the Atlas home page. I hope this makes it easier to see the history of both publications, which (I shall unbiasedly argue) is an important part of the history of the Pardee School itself.

Over the last year, we’ve published some great pieces of writing, recorded a new episode for the Atlas Podcast, and hosted our third annual conference. I would never have been able to do so without the Atlas team, and I want to give a special thank you to Tatiana Azouri, who joined as an all-rounder and has been an immense and exceptional help to me, especially on the Conference, for which she served as co-chair, and the Podcast, going well above and beyond what was expected. This is not to diminish the tremendous support and effort from the rest of the team as well: to Ellie Stout (Editing), Victoria Landa (Editing and Conference), and Sapana Joshi (Conference)—thank you for all of your support and work! I wish each of you the best moving forward.

Previous editors’ farewells have referenced the challenges of the day, and I would quickly mention one that is relevant to both the world at large and to Pardee in particular. It is also of personal importance to me (as anyone who knows me will be aware). The widespread adoption of generative AI has deeply changed the character of academia. It is now rather easy for some to move through programs like ours without dedicating real effort to writing, research, or learning. Far beyond the world of graduate student writing, we now live in a time where similar technology has been used to make targeting decisions in warfare. From academia to government, it is easier than ever to unload one’s effort and moral responsibility onto machines. This is not to mention the problem of mis-, dis-, and malinformation that AI has exacerbated worldwide. These are some of the great challenges of our day. At least in the realm of BU and Pardee, it is my hope that the Atlas will be a home for those who truly, genuinely care about what we study, and who are dedicated to becoming the best and most competent people they can be, even when it is easier to do otherwise. The world can always use more such people.

I am very happy to be passing the role of Editor-in-Chief onto Ellie Stout. Ellie was the first member of this first-year cohort to join the Atlas, and she has been a great and trustworthy member of the editorial team. Even further, she is an immensely talented, dependable, and dedicated person who cares deeply about the quality of this program, and I have the utmost trust that she will be a great leader for the publication in the coming year. Thank you, Ellie!

Signing off,

Jack Whiten

Editor-in-Chief, The Pardee Atlas (2025-2026)