After spending 16 years handling (at last count) 2573 manuscripts, Dr Richard (Rick) Bump is retiring as Associate Editor for the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology . He brought to the Journal a vast wealth of experience, knowledge, and dedication.

Following medical school and residency at Ohio State University, Rick began his academic career at the same institution in 1985, moving to the Medical College of Virginia in 1991 and then to Duke University Medical Center in 1993, where for the next 7 years he directed the Division of Gynecologic Specialties and was a Senior Fellow in the Center for the Study of Aging and Human Development.

As a young faculty member, Rick was part of the Continence Program for Women, one of the first National Institutes of Health–funded research programs in female urinary incontinence. At Duke University Medical Center, he established a fellowship in Female Pelvic Medicine and Reconstructive Pelvic Surgery that continues as an extremely productive and highly regarded program today.

In 2000, Rick’s career transitioned to one beyond the traditional academic walls. He served in a position of leadership at Lilly Research Laboratories until 2013, maintaining his scientific interests with the highest integrity.

Over the course of his career, Rick contributed to the literature with more than 100 high-quality, peer-reviewed manuscripts and numerous chapters. His 1996 manuscript describing the pelvic organ prolapse quantification system remains one of the most frequently cited manuscripts in gynecology to date.

A colleague noted that Rick was the source of so many ideas that we now take for granted but were not mainstream at the time, in particular putting a patient’s perception of optimal outcome ahead of the surgeon’s perception, understanding that midlevel providers had much to offer women with incontinence and urging clinicians to measure pelvic organ support objectively before and after surgery.

Rick has been a national leader and was president of the American Urogynecological Society from 1997 to 1998. Rick was one of the earliest advocates for the specialty of urogynecology at the National Institutes of Health and was instrumental in that institute’s recognition of urogynecology as a scientific discipline.

Rick’s advocacy was not limited, however, to formal organizations. He has been a mentor to many urogynecologists, not just those in his Fellowship. In recounting valuable lessons learned from Rick, one colleague described Rick’s “preacher’s pause,” in which he would stop in a talk just before saying something important. He maintained that some people in the crowd who were sleeping would suddenly wake up and pay attention, just because they thought the speaker had lost her way in the talk. At that juncture, he instructed, hit them with the important point.

Rick has always been a thoughtful and strong voice for young clinicians. One of Rick’s mentees noted that Rick inspired those he trained and made them feel as if their successes were Rick’s greatest accomplishments.

With his wife Kathy, Rick plans to fully enjoy their family. Indeed, as we write this, Rick and Kathy just returned from experiencing the Wintergreen Bluegrass Festival with 8 of their 9 grandchildren and 4 of their 6 children. Golf will certainly play a role in their future. And, given Rick’s intellectual curiosity and academic prowess, we look forward to seeing what directions he will take in this new chapter.