In 1995 when "New Directions" issue No. 63, "Understanding Self-Regulated Learning," was published, the issue editor, Paul Pintrich, was one of the leaders in studying how college students learn and what helps or hinders them during the process. His contributions to the field have been tremendous and very significant both theoretically and pragmatically. His untimely death from a stroke in 2003 robbed the field of someone who was destined to bring many insights into how students develop as self-regulated learners. This chapter is a tribute to how far the field has come since the mid-nineties, and much of the progress builds on and continues the work started by Pintrich. His work continues to be published posthumously and still leads the field. The growth in understanding of why self-regulated learning is important to teaching and learning is outlined and Pintrich's model is presented and discussed. (Contains 1 figure.)