Forum

Membership on the JRME Editorial Committee changes in July of even-numbered calendar years. The twenty-one members serve staggered six-year terms, with one-third retiring and replaced each even-numbered calendar year. Beginning in July 2012, a new position was created to facilitate leadership transitions during the last two years of the committee chairperson’s term, the associate chairperson, who will serve as chairperson elect. It is my pleasure to announce that Steven Morrison from the University of Washington will fill this position and become the new chairperson (what we informally call “editor”) in July 2014. For an explanation of this new position, please see the Forum column in the July 2011 issue.

Serving on the JRME Editorial Committee is challenging and time-consuming work. Members typically review about sixteen to eighteen new manuscript submissions, plus four to six revised submissions, per year. They work diligently to provide helpful and constructive feedback to the authors and the editor. The JRME strives to employ a rigorous review process, so as to publish research of the highest quality that contributes to knowledge related to music teaching and learning. With an acceptance rate of approximately 20 percent, decisions are difficult and made with great care. While many prospective authors are disappointed, we hope that once the sting of not being accepted wears off, they will realize that the feedback they have received is valuable as they design new research projects and/or revise for submission to a different journal.

Many thanks are due to the Editorial Committee members who have completed their terms in 2012, for their years of dedicated service—James Austin, John Geringer, Donald Hodges, Roseanne Rosenthal, Peter Webster, and Graham Welch. I am pleased to announce that the following individuals have begun six-year terms on the committee: Phillip Hash, Beatriz Ilari, Rebecca MacLeod, Peter Miksza, Evelyn Orman, Joshua Russell, and Amy Simmons. The complete list of committee members may be found inside the front cover of each issue of the journal and on the journal website. This is an impressive list of published researchers representing a wide array of specialties, interests, and expertise. If you are an experienced, successful author who would like to provide valuable service to the profession as a member of this group, watch for the “Call for Editorial Committee Members” that will be distributed by NAfME and will appear in the JRME in 2013.