Dr. Jack Michael is professor emeritus of psychology at Western Michigan University (WMU). Dr. Michael has held faculty appointments at some of the key academic centers of behavior analysis-University of Kansas, Arizona State University, and WMU-where he taught generations of leaders in the field of behavior analysis. In recognition of this achievement, he received an award from APA for distinguished teaching. He has also been one of the field's conceptual leaders, contributing important papers on negative reinforcement, automatic reinforcement, verbal behavior, and establishing operations. His influence in the areas of verbal behavior and establishing operations has been especially profound. The current emphasis on Skinnerian language instruction for individuals with autism is a direct result of Dr. Michael's work, and extensions of his writing on establishing operations have formed the basis of a new approach to therapeutic intervention. Although he does not conduct applied research, he has directly or indirectly mentored more editors and associate editors of the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis than any other individual.