A Tribute to Larry Erlbaum

The editorial board of Cognitive Science had mixed emotions on hearing the news that Larry Erlbaum was selling Lawrence Erlbaum Associates (LEA) to Informa, parent company of Taylor and Francis. Larry has been an ardent supporter of the Cognitive Science Society since its inception. LEA has published the print version of the conference proceedings and since 2005 has been the publisher of the journal as well. Indeed, in recognition of his support of the society, and the great advice he has given over the years, the Cognitive Science Society made Larry an honorary life member. Thus, while we are happy for Larry personally, and pleased that he has ensured the future of the publications that LEA supports, we will miss his ubiquitous presence at conferences and his wise counsel to editors and society board members. We want to take a moment to recognize the valuable service that Larry Erlbaum has provided to cognitive science broadly over the years. The field of cognitive science is made up of academic researchers. While academics have many strengths, controlling large organizations is not one of them. Over the years, many professional societies have been developed by academics to provide support for researchers, to publish journals, and to organize conferences. When these organizations succeed, the potential problems that arise often go beyond the capacities of the civic-minded academics who created them. That is where Larry Erlbaum stepped in. On the one hand, he has the business savvy that most of us in the academic world lack. On the other hand, he has always viewed the success of academic research as part of the mission of LEA, rather than a resource to be exploited for profit. Consequently, his advice to countless small professional societies has made our field a better place. And, of course, all of this work behind the scenes is on top of his service as a publisher. In an era in which academic books and journals are being priced beyond the reach of individuals, LEA has maintained a pricing policy that has kept books and journals affordable to individual scientists. LEA has also published a wide range of books across the span of cognitive science. Even though academic publishing is a high-risk and low reward business, LEA was always willing to take on new and scientifically interesting projects. The editorial board at Cognitive Science will miss Larry Erlbaum’s daily involvement in the field. Over the course of his career at LEA, Larry Erlbaum has done well, and he has done good. That is an ideal to which we can all aspire. Cognitive Science 31 (2007) 1 Copyright © 2007 Cognitive Science Society, Inc. All rights reserved.