AEI joins the nation in mourning the passing of our 38th president and dear friend Gerald R. Ford. President Ford's formal involvement in AEI's activities began on January 20, 1977, although he had participated in AEI programs before that time and corresponded with the Institute as a new member of Congress in 1949. Under AEI's auspices, he visited sixty-four university campuses and spoke to 500 classes about his experiences in politics. Later, with British prime minister James Callaghan, French president Valery Giscard D'Estaing, and German chancellor Helmut Schmitt, President Ford launched the AEI World Forum, which continues to this day. In an interview with The American Enterprise, the former president and AEI distinguished fellow was asked how he would like to be remembered in the history books. His reply: "I hope history will record that I became president in extremely challenging times, with most Americans disillusioned because of Watergate, the Vietnam War, and an economic recession, and that I restored public confidence and healed distrust of the nation's leaders and their government." We salute the former president for his great service to the nation.