As the exceptional scholars presented here note, in addition to their attraction to intellectual matters, the academy affords them the opportunity to teach, which some describe as their calling, their mission and their life's work. In concert with the value of their research, publications, awards, fellowships and civic service, these scholars emphasize the significance of their very presence in the academic arena. Some were the only person of color in their graduate programs and some the first person of color ever to earn tenure in their departments. Some are first-generation scholars and some the offspring of scholars and educators themselves. All of the academicians featured in Black Issues In Higher Education's third annual edition highlighting outstanding young scholars seem to appreciate that, as people of color at work in universities and colleges across the country--be they historically Black, predominantly White or any other institutional configuration--they can challenge students' perceptions in general, and inspire a new generation of scholars of African descent in particular. The scholars featured in this issue are: (1) Daina Ramey Berry;(2) Devon Carbado; (3) Paula Hammond Cunningham; (4) Brent Hayes Edwards; (5) Edray Herber Goins; (6) Charles L. Isbell Jr.; (7) Tammy Kernoodle; and (8) Earl Wright II.