The torch has been passed again as the Wildcat welcomes new editors in chief for the summer and the upcoming academic year.

Kelly Sampson, journalism graduate student and Wildcat news editor, was chosen editor in chief for the 1996-97 school year and Joseph Altman Jr., journalism sophomore and Wildcat assistant news editor, will be editor in chief for the Summer Wildcat.

The Summer Wildcat is a weekly newspaper, published every Wednesday for 10 weeks starting June 5.

Altman said he hopes the Summer Wildcat will reflect the different nature of the paper compared to the Daily Wildcat.

In past years, the Summer Wildcat was similar to the Daily Wildcat format, he said.

"As a weekly paper we will try to look more in depth into campus issues. We will try to make it more interesting and exciting for our readers," he said.

"I am looking forward to giving the Summer Wildcat a unique identity that still says it is part of the Daily Wildcat tradition, but has its own flavor and image," he said.

Sampson, who holds a bachelor's degree in Russian studies from Arizona State University, said, "Next year I want people to understand that the Wildcat wants to hear what they have to say. We're not just pushing information on the U of A community. We are interested in campus input," she said.

Sampson said she wants to make the Wildcat more visually interesting.

"I want people to pick up the Wildcat because it looks appealing and interesting, not because it is free," she said.

Altman and Sampson were selected by the Board of Student Publications after going through a month-long application process and an interview in front of the board.

Monty Phan, this year's editor in chief, said both Sampson and Altman will do an "excellent job."

"I don't envy them," Phan said. "It's a difficult job. You live in a glass house - everyone knows your mistakes."

Phan became editor in chief in January after Christine Verges resigned to take a position at the Arizona Daily Star.

Phan, a journalism senior who plans to graduate in December, said he is not sure whether he will return to the staff of the Daily Wildcat.

This summer, Phan will work as an intern at Long Island Newsday.