Jim Roberts, a 1971 Cornell University graduate and a third-generation Cornellian with 20 years of experience in the publishing industry, has been named editor and publisher of Cornell Magazine. He succeeds David Gibson, who became managing editor of Yankee in April.

"We received applications from numerous people who have outstanding professional skills, but Jim was the only one who had that extra Cornell dimension," said Larry Eisen, head of the committee that hired Roberts. "His management skills are well-suited to the job. He's delightful to work with, and he has a good sense of humor. He'll be a pleasure to have as an addition to the staff."

Roberts, who worked as a professional musician after graduating from Cornell with a B.A. in government, was a freelance writer for Guitar Player during the 1980s. In 1989 the magazine's owner, Miller Freeman Inc., hired him as the first editor of Bass Player, which Roberts brought from a quarterly to a monthly. He became publisher of Bass Player in 1995; the following year, he was named group publisher of Bass Player, Guitar Player, Keyboard and other specialty publications. In May 1999 he returned to Cornell as director of communications for Alumni Affairs and Development, after learning about the job from an ad in Cornell Magazine. Roberts assumes his new post June 12.

"It's a great opportunity for me, given my background in magazine publishing and my lifelong interest in Cornell," Roberts said. "We wanted to move back East, to get away from the Bay Area and all the overpriced real estate and come to a place where we thought it would be better for our kids to grow up."

Roberts is the grandson of Henry Roberts, Class of 1875, the son of Alan Roberts '22 and the brother of Helen Roberts Wendel '58. Roberts' wife, Susan Strahosky, is a pediatrician specializing in the treatment of children with developmental disabilities. They have a son, Miles, 12, an avid basketball player, and a daughter, Nadia, 7, an aspiring ballerina.

Established in 1899, Cornell Magazine is an editorially independent publication owned by the Cornell Alumni Federation. It is distributed by subscription six times a year to 28,500 alumni and friends of Cornell University. The magazine has won the highest award in its field, the Robert Sibley Award for Magazine of the Year, twice in the past four years.

"It's a first-rate magazine," Roberts said. "I hope to continue the tradition of excellence established by David Gibson and my other predecessors, while finding some new editorial directions and new ways to serve the Cornell community."