After succumbing to James Flower's flowery blandishments to visit with you this morning, I found myself in a quandary as to what you and I could, or should, think about together. I didn't know what to talk about as I considered all the different facets of our profession and where it, and we, are, or are not, headed. Besides that, as you know, a professor doesn't know anything. He just professes. Then, one day, Glen Shinn and I ate lunch in one of the finest emporiums of culinary cuisine in our fair city of College Station, a greasy spoon called Fatburger. He doesn't know it, but that is where the idea for this talk was born, and recorded on a 3"x5" card. I reread the specific topics, bolstered by research and scholarly writings, that previous mystery speakers have presented as their distinguished lectures, e.g., Milo Peterson's issues and reactions (1968), Dave McClay's concerns and comforts (1970), Lowery Davis's unpardonable sin (1971), Orville Thompson's possible dream (1972), Joe Bail's renewal and rebirth (1973), Bob Warmbrod's liberalization of vo cational education (1974), Ron Brown's capitalizing on our strengths (1991), L.H. Newcomb's transforming university programs of agricultural education (1992), Glen Shinn's topographical survey of our professional society (1993), and many others. Then, looking out the office window one day, with the wind blowing, I started thinking about the different winds of change that are swirling around institutions of higher education today, yours and mine, and programs of agricultural education in those institutions, and I was reminded again of Orville Thompson's conclusion 28 years ago that "Education in agriculture has no alternative but to change and change and change, (that) technological development is irreversible, (and that) we need to quit concentrating on the rear view mirror for direction…." (Thompson, 1972, p. 7). The question that arises then, is, are we changing in ways that truly make a difference, or as Looking Down the Road…
