Dear Members of IAU Division J, Galaxies & Cosmology,

• I would like to draw your attention to the new Division J web pages at https://www.iau.org/science/scientific_bodies/divisions/J/info/. Madeleine Smith-Spanier at the IAU office in Paris made a major effort to enhance the functionality of the web pages of all scientific bodies of the IAU. Please visit the site and familiarize yourself with the layout and contents. You will notice that some pages are still blank. We encourage you to make suggestions for what you would like to see there.
• The IAU Office of Astronomy for Development (http://www.astro4dev.org/) has a new point of contact with the IAU divisions. Vanessa McBride (vanessa@astro4dev.org) is an astronomer who has been working at the OAD since January 2017. Most recently, she was employed as a senior lecturer at the University of Cape Town, in joint appointment with the South African Astronomical Observatory. She taught at the undergraduate level, and led a research group on massive X-ray binaries and related objects for the last few years, and she continues as an honorary research associate at the University. As you know, the OAD is focused on assisting the astronomy community to contribute to the goals of global development, supporting development projects through the annual call for proposals, and the provision of a library of best practice for the astronomy development community.
• All Divisions of the IAU are actively raising the awareness of the IAU among junior scientists. Many of our junior colleagues are not members of the IAU and may not be familiar with its goals and benefits. I urge you to spread the word and share this message with your junior colleagues at your institution.
• As always, The Steering Committee of Division J is eager to hear your comments and suggestions. You can contact myself (leitherer@stsci.edu) or any member of the Committee.

Sincerely,
Claus Leitherer
(President, Division J)