Editorial pubs.acs.org/jchemeduc
Acknowledging Contributions to Volume 89 Norbert J. Pienta* Department of Chemistry, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia 30602-2556, United States ABSTRACT: Journal contributors in the past year are acknowledged. A new publication timeline is announced for the next volume. KEYWORDS: General Public
T
administrator in Iowa. With my move to the University of Georgia, two new staff members are joining us: Elizabeth Partridge and D. Sullins Benson. The second group to recognize and thank includes the talented individuals who are our Associate Editors: Arthur Halpern (Indiana State University), Cheryl Frech (University of Central Oklahoma), Deanna Cullen (Whitehall High School, Whitehall, MI), Gregory Rushton (Kennesaw State University), John Risley (University of North Carolina, Charlotte), Marcy Towns (Purdue University), and Renée Cole (University of Iowa). The third group we thank is the individuals who volunteer to serve as reviewers, contributing their time and knowledge to the peer-review process. Their work is at the core of the publication process, providing advice to the editors about each contribution. Ultimately, we thank all our contributors. We depend on our authors to represent the cutting edge of the discipline with their submissions. Because the Journal’s criteria include novelty and usefulness to a reasonable portion of our readers, the peerreview process and editorial judgment cannot rank all submissions as among the best that the Journal could publish. An unfavorable decision may not be popular; however, declining to publish some papers is a necessary part of journal publication. Shifting forward, we anticipate good things for the next year, when the Journal publishes its 90th volume. Look for some celebratory content: decades seem like a good time to do some things extra. Volume 90 also offers the opportunity to make improvements and changes to the Journal. One such change involves adjusting our publication timeline and schedule. In terms of the logistical details, staff at ACS Publications outlined this explanation:
he last issue in 2012 provides the opportunity to reflect on the current volume and look ahead to our 90th year. A fall excursion to India with participating editors-in-chief of ACS Publications journals provided several unique opportunities. Besides experiencing a new culture as a first-time visitor, your Editor was given many opportunities to present a synopsis of JCE history, goals, and future aspirations. Details will appear at another time; suffice it now to report that authors, reviewers, and readers of our Journal were among our hosts at all nine institutions we visited. Their comments about the items they liked and suggestions for how to serve the chemical education community even better paralleled what I have heard at professional meetings and university visits in the United States. Chemical education is indeed global. It seems that we all are concerned about the same issues. The editor-in-chief has to report to the Board of Publication of the ACS Division of Chemical Education at their twice-yearly meeting and moderate two annual meetings of our Editorial Advisory Board. This fall also marked the end of my third year, necessitating an evaluative report that is part of our formative process (and a requirement for continuing as editor-in-chief). All of these activities have different metrics. That we published another fine collection of contributions, encompassing a variety of manuscript types, seems apparent to me. We hear your feedback about what the Journal publishes through your informal comments at meetings, via email messages, and as part of letters to the editor: interactions we expect with our readers, authors, and reviewers. We hope each of you is pleased; we endeavor to serve all of the diverse constituencies of this Journal. Recognition that journal publication is a complex set of activities that require a team approach started during the editorin-chief transition several years ago and gets revisited often. The first group to acknowledge is the Journal House staff at the University of Wisconsin−Madison: Alice Teter (submissions processing); Arrietta Clauss (development and copy editor); Bernadette Caldwell (development and copy editor); Jon Holmes (managing editor); Mary Saecker (issue planning, associate editor assignment, and preproduction manager); and Randall Wildman (graphics editor). Some of you will recognize Alice Teter as the “manager” of submissions and reviews for the previous editor and before the copublication agreement with ACS Publications. Alice is phasing out her activities with the Journal, and we thank her for her many years of service. Likewise, we thank Lindsay Elliott, who served as journal office © 2012 American Chemical Society and Division of Chemical Education, Inc.
Published: October 22, 2012 1483
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed300712b | J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, 1483−1484
Journal of Chemical Education
Editorial
Beginning with volume 90, issues will be dated and made available as indicated by the cover date (the actual month of publication). Readers are likely aware that JCE content is continually made available online at ACS Publications through Articles ASAP (As Soon As Publishable).1 ASAP articles are edited and published online ahead of the print edition. This will not change. JCE issues online will continue to become available on the second Tuesday of each month;2 thus, the Web edition of the first issue of Volume 90 of JCE will be posted online on January 8, 2013. Readers of the print edition will note that the first issue of the Journal for 2013 will be shipped to subscribers later in January. With this transition, the December 2012 issue will be available in November, then the January 2013 (Volume 90, Number 1) issue will be realigned with the month of publication and will become available in January 2013. (Subscribers will have received all 2012 issues and content.) Regardless of whether you read the Journal online or in print, plan on getting 12 great issues in 2013.
■
AUTHOR INFORMATION
Corresponding Author
*E-mail:
[email protected]. Notes
Views expressed in this editorial are those of the author and not necessarily the views of the ACS.
■
REFERENCES
(1) Journal of Chemical Education Articles ASAP Web page. http:// pubs.acs.org/toc/jceda8/0/0 (accessed Oct 2012). (2) Home page of the Journal of Chemical Education. http://pubs. acs.org/journal/jceda8 (accessed Oct 2012).
1484
dx.doi.org/10.1021/ed300712b | J. Chem. Educ. 2012, 89, 1483−1484
