Abstract
I leave my editorial role with a tremendous gratitude for being afforded the opportunity. I feel humbled to be associated with a journal that has contributed significantly to the implementation of scientifically based policies and practices in correctional and forensic psychology. During my five years as Editor, my goals were firmly rooted in maintaining the integrity of the journal and the academic principles it represents. For me, that meant not only publishing methodologically strong and innovative articles, but doing so in a way that was rooted in objectivity and scientific principles. It was also a goal to expand beyond the cultural norms of Western epistemology. Criminal Justice and Behavior is understandably tilted toward North American research because its roots are firmly embedded there. Nonetheless, I felt it important to remain impartial about research that challenged Western assumptions, especially given how much cultural experiences can affect the development of knowledge.
Additionally, I did my best to maintain the integrity of the editorial role through a strong ethical compass. Many of the research studies published among these pages have powerful, life-altering implications for individuals who are justice-involved, including offenders, practitioners, and victims. I saw it as a professional obligation to always consider how research design and results might impact these end-users, regardless of whether controversial findings would increase the journal’s impact factor. I am grateful to the Executive Board of the International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology (the non-profit organization that owns the journal) and Tom Mankowski at SAGE for being strong partners in maintaining the highest ethical and scholarly standards.
While I am truly grateful for the opportunity and have no regrets, it wasn’t an easy decision to become Editor of CJB. I understood that setting aside my own research agenda in order to serve the profession and discipline would have its costs. For one, it removed the main publication outlet for my research (and that of my primary co-authors). From the beginning I was committed to refrain from publishing my own work in the journal. While I was never formally instructed to adopt this editorial policy, it inherently seemed to be the ethically appropriate decision. To me, publishing one’s own work felt like a complete contradiction to the hallmarks of the academy, regardless of whatever efforts might be made to blind the peer review process. I say this not to praise myself, but to remind us all about doing our best to maintain the integrity of the academic institution and the dissemination of knowledge, regardless of our role in it. This seems especially important now, given that many social institutions, including higher education and the larger scientific community, are under scrutiny for their legitimacy and credibility (e.g., see Brian Nosek’s work on the “failure to replicate” research findings in the psychological sciences). Loose ethical practices give weight to the arguments of policymakers who seek, for example, to abolish tenure.
Further, I am proud of the fact that CJB has maintained a strong impact factor and ranking; for the first time, it is above 2.0 (at 2.099). Nevertheless, the impact factor was never the primary measuring stick I used to determine how our editorial team was operating. Impact factors and rankings are important, but they aren’t the end all, be all, and they often fluctuate for reasons that have little to do with the quality of manuscripts published (e.g., when editorial staff regularly publish their own work in their own journals). Instead, I relied more on the strength of individual articles, as well as honest feedback on how we were doing from Editorial Board members, authors, reviewers, and the Executive Board of IACFP.
Although being an editor can be a “thankless” job, it has been particularly meaningful to me because I started my graduate career with it 17 years ago. I was selected to be its managing editor by the former editor, Dr. Curt Bartol, as a master’s student in forensic psychology at Castleton State College in Vermont. Even though our college administration didn’t realize it at the time, we were such a great program not only because of the leadership of Curt as department chair and editor of CJB, but because of incredibly talented faculty: Drs. Anne Bartol (retired), Brenda Russell (now at Penn State Berks), Kevin Fleming (now at Norwich University), Marc Patry (now at St. John’s University), and John Vojtisek (deceased). Each of them contributed significantly to my career in various ways, and to the careers of many other students—including one student who is especially near and dear to me, and who encouraged me to pursue doctoral-level study, Jen Trager Schmid. Jen, I’m forever grateful for your guidance and friendship.
The editorial role also allowed me to become far more familiar with the International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology (IACFP). The Association is committed to “helping the helpers” who dedicate their careers to improving the lives and safety of individual citizens every day, often by jeopardizing their own personal safety. It is a privilege to work with their Executive Board, and I am confident that the mission and goals of the Association will continue to become more familiar to our readership in the coming years. For those of you who are unaware, IACFP has promoted the development of psychological practice in criminal justice and law enforcement settings since 1954. Over the last year, there has been significant growth in the Association’s professionalization with the culmination of a strong strategic plan and a highly skilled and collegial new Executive Director, Cherie Townsend. I encourage each of you, especially junior faculty and early-career practitioners, to discover how you can become more involved in IACFP’s vision: “Engaged criminal justice practitioners implementing innovative and humane practices worldwide.”
Of course, editing a high-tier, monthly publication isn’t done alone, but with a team of experts. I am indebted to the skills and expertise of those who served this journal alongside me, including those who guest edited special issues (Drs. Jay Singh, Bruce Arrigo, Tony Ward, Kristy Holtfreter, Leslie Maaike Helmus, Kelly Babchishin, & Jamie Vaske). And I thank Dr. Joseph Eastwood for serving as the journal’s Book Review Editor.
In addition, as all journal editors know, we would be nowhere without our Editorial Board members and reviewers who commit to providing timely, carefully crafted, and thorough reviews on a consistent basis. Finding such reviewers is not easy, in part because doctoral programs often fail to teach young scholars the critical skill of how to complete a proper blind peer-review. Although each reviewer and Editorial Board member is valuable, I would like to highlight a few scholars for their continued dedication to CJB. Drs. David DeMatteo and Calvin Langton deserve special recognition for submitting 28 and 20 reviews, respectively, since we began using the Manuscript Central system. Additionally, the following list includes Editorial Board members (*) and reviewers who submitted at least 10 substantive reviews to CJB since we began using the Manuscript Central system.
Many thanks are also due to Drs. Margaret Braun and Anne Shirley Leymon for being Managing Editors during my first two years as Editor. Dr. Jaime Henderson served as Managing Editor for the last three years, and her dedication, incredible work ethic, and attention to detail made my role far easier. Plus, Jaime’s hilarities were always a welcome treat in my inbox—I’m as grateful for her hard work as I am for her levity. To those authors who published with us in the last three years, you significantly benefited from Jaime’s commitment, and I thank those of you who acknowledged her in your articles.
Breanna Boppre has been with me from the beginning of this journey as our Editorial Assistant starting at Portland State, and I couldn’t have asked for a better doctoral student to work with in this role. She learned complex tasks quickly, always communicated professionally with authors and reviewers, and ensured things ran smoothly during the day-to-day operations of the journal. Bree is now completing her dissertation, and is well on her way to becoming an incredibly talented scholar and educator in the academy due to the many strengths she possesses.
Additionally, I can’t thank Dr. Jody Sundt enough for her guidance, intellect, and encouragement in her role as Associate Editor. She was always willing to listen and provide support when especially difficult and controversial editorial decisions needed to be made. Jody is quite simply one of the most brilliant people I will ever know, both intellectually and emotionally. She has the rare ability to not only see the heart of a problem among complex issues, but also to give multiple potential solutions, while everyone else lingers in the weeds. I never take for granted her high-level expertise and generosity of spirit.
The team at SAGE also deserves special recognition for being truly skilled and competent partners in the production and dissemination of CJB. Glenn Bachman, Peter Geraghty, and Alan Carabes have all been excellent collaborators on the production side of the publication process at SAGE. Additionally, I’m convinced that Tom Mankowski remains one of the hardest working staff at SAGE, promoting the journal and IACFP worldwide.
One final note of gratitude goes to Dr. Joel Lieberman, Chair of my home academic department (Criminal Justice) at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Joel was highly supportive of my editorial role when I (and Breanna Boppre) transitioned here three years ago. The move to UNLV with the journal was seamless because he made it so.
As Criminal Justice and Behavior moves to its 45th volume in 2018, I am proud to announce that the IACFP Executive Board elected Dr. Robert Morgan from Texas Tech University as the new Editor of Criminal Justice and Behavior. Bob has extensive experience with the journal, serving as a frequent author, reviewer, and Editorial Board member for many years. In fact, he is among the major contributors listed above. I suspect many of our readers will already know of Bob’s work, as he is a well-respected and highly established scholar in correctional and forensic psychology. I am confident that he will shepherd CJB to an even higher level of prestige through his enthusiasm and innovative ideas.
Cheers to all of you for your support, but now it’s time to get back to my own research.
#GenderMatters