Editorial: Professors as leaders

One of us (RW) was asked recently to address the role of professors as leaders in the 21st century at an international nursing education conference in Hong Kong and this has stimulated us to think further on this issue. We have addressed the issue of the professoriate in nursing before (Watson & Thompson 2004, Thompson & Watson 2006) and this has drawn criticism and stimulated debate (Rolfe 2007). However, we have largely bemoaned the state of the nursing professoriate, especially in the UK, in terms of the ease with which the title is sometimes obtained and the activities that are purportedly promoted within the role. © 2008 Blackwell Publishing Ltd