This is a special issue of Genetica that has its origins in a symposium held in honor of Richard G. Harrison at Ithaca, New York on July 22–23. Former students of Rick Harrison organized the symposium and most of the speakers were former students, as well. The quality and breadth of the talks were a testament to Rick’s influence as a thinker, synthesizer, and mentor and it is only appropriate to reflect on Rick’s contributions to the fields of evolutionary ecology, systematics, and genetics in this preface to the symposium articles.