This issue of SEM Quarterly highlights leadership and scholarship in Strategic Enrollment Management. Four well-researched articles provide readers with both broad perspectives and practical examples of their concepts. Dr. Kevin Pollock’s “View from the Top” offers sharp insights into the challenges and pathways for community college leadership on SEM. Interest in SEM planning has probably never been higher among community college leaders. His article is both strongly grounded in literature and recent examples and well-timed for the strong interest among community college leaders.

Complementary to Dr. Pollock’s article is Christopher W. Tremblay’s inventory of SEM certification programs. It provides readers a way to see the variety of avenues for professional and leadership development in SEM. From continuing education credits through graduate degree programs, Dr. Tremblay offers a comprehensive view of current offerings and trends in SEM education.

Kimberly Seefeld focuses on the role of scholarship in SEM. It traces the central role of research and inquiry back to the early roots of enrollment management (Maguire 1976) into today’s data-driven technology environment. Seefeld investigates the role of scholar practitioner both in broad terms and in the areas of SEM practice.

The issue offers two research-focused articles that showcase scholarship in the SEM field. Dr. Stephen Schultheis ties retention and student success to admissions strategies, grounding his work through the lens of Tinto’s theories of college departure, among others. Jacob P. K. Gross uses statistical analysis to examine the role of student financial support in student access and success. While this is a field that has ample literature, Gross adds to that knowledge with a view of the role financial aid plays in student success by gender. This new view of the literature and his data provide us valuable new insights into price sensitivity and gender in a complex environment of Pell grants and need-based loans across institutional types.

This first issue in our third volume challenges us to consider our roles as SEM leaders and scholars, while offering strongly researched examples of how information and data can influence our thoughts and practice. It also challenges us to consider the trajectory of leadership and development for ourselves and others who may emerge as scholars and leaders in SEM’s future state.