Except for the politicians and world leaders whose actions make headlines, and whose newsworthiness is obvious, the choice of what face shall appear on the cover of TIME is a process in which any number can and do play. Our correspondents all over the world put forward candidates from their areas; writers in art or music or sports bring up names. And once a week, in their only regularly scheduled get-together, the senior editors of TIME assemble for Cover Conference.

In informal and candid talk, they hear the case for one man against another, discuss the rising or falling of this or that reputation, groan at hearing some singer's or comedian's name suggested once again, and debate the cresting of popular interest in what goes on off Broadway or inside Berlin.

Always the hardest choice is in areas (and there are a great many these days) where the news is interesting--new scientific discoveries are made, a new fad takes hold or a new trend in industry develops--but no one person embodies the subject. Happier are the occasions when a topic is news, and one person in the field stands out.

So it is this week. How good is Roman Catholic education these days? The subject is one that agitates many Catholics. As "Great Books" Editor Mortimer Adler says, Catholics have become both more self-critical and less defensive about the kind of education they are providing. The man who heads one of Catholicism's best-known schools, Notre Dame, and has given it a new kind of reputation, represents the new trend in Roman Catholic education. And thus the Rev. Theodore Martin Hesburgh appears on TIME's cover.

For the past four years, Willard C. Rappleye (rhymes with happily) Jr., 37, has been covering the economic beat in Washington, D.C., reporting on how politics affects economics, and dealing with "the aggregates"--the gross national product, the balance of payments, the broad indexes. This week he moves to his new job as New York and national economic correspondent, to follow the news of Wall Street and to pursue stories of individuals and companies as well as broad trends. Yale-educated, Rappleye grew up in New York City (his father is the retired dean of Columbia Medical School), and is glad to be back. "It's a little hard to swing in Washington," he says.

The new Jones boy, fifth in line for the British throne, bears the title of:

a) Duke of Marlborough

b) Earl of Snowdon

c) Viscount Linley

d) Prince Presumptive

In the more than 3,500 colleges and high schools in the U.S. and Canada where TIME is used regularly as a supplementary text, students this month are answering this and 104 other questions in TIME's latest Current Affairs Test. This new quiz is a rewarding way to review the eventful period from last September until year's end. You may have a copy of the test booklet (and answer sheet) by sending 25-c- (or $1 for ten) to TIME 1962 Current Affairs Test, P.O. Box 1962. Radio City Station. New York 19. N.Y.

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