Abstract
It is with mixed emotion that I leave my post as Editor and Chief. A Stage IV diagnosis of terminal cancer, subsequent chemotherapy and more, has thrust me into the role of caregiver for the love of my life, my husband. I am in the process of reprioritizing my life, and reluctantly, I must withdraw from my journal responsibilities. This will give us time, while he is doing well, to check off as many bucket list items as possible. Each day is special.
I am very pleased with our accomplishments over the past two years. When I assumed leadership I had several goals for the journal and am happy to say that we accomplished the majority of them. With the support of the Editorial Board, I was able to change the manuscript page limits to allow the publication of more papers, we added a Brief Report column to highlight promising pilot work, and included an Emerging Scholars section to feature dissertation accomplishments. I initiated Editorials designed to be helpful to authors and last month worked to publish a Special Issue on Communication Research in Aging.
Perhaps our greatest accomplishment is the improved turnaround for reviews. Reviewers have worked very hard to improve this statistic, especially for first submissions; submission to review time moved from 135 days in 2010, to 48 days in 2011, and currently it stands at 46.6 days. This has allowed us to build an inventory of accepted papers and by publishing them online first, they become immediately available to other scholars. I am confident that these changes will be reflected in the journal’s impact factor as scholars gain immediate access to more current studies. Likewise, the inventory of papers has allowed us to publish papers of higher quality. We select only the most rigorous studies with significant impact on the field. We have seen an increase in the number of manuscripts submitted for review and this has also increased the scientific merit of the papers we choose to publish.
As I collaborate with Dr. Jeff Burr, the new Editor in Chief, I am confident of a smooth transition and of the future of the journal. Dr. Burr has excellent goals and will provide outstanding leadership. The journal is well positioned to move higher in the journal quality ratings and to continue to provide outstanding service to authors.
I am very thankful not only to members of the Editorial Board, but also to our hundreds of excellent reviewers. I especially would like to recognize Dr. James Hinterlong, Associate Editor for the Emerging Scholars feature, and Dr. Elaine Wittenberg Lyles for her hard work as Guest Editor of the Special Issue. I cannot thank Sage enough for their support, and especially to Erin Walsh and her patience and guidance. Finally, I wish to thank the many authors who trust in us to provide a high quality review process and an excellent forum to disseminate their work. Without their hard work, creativity and innovation, we would not have a journal.