Abstract
As I reflect on my final days as Editor of the Journal of Applied Gerontology, I consider my service to the Journal among the highpoints of my career. It is hard to believe I have served as Editor for over 6 years! As I have emphasized throughout my year-end review editorials and my various interactions with you, our many accomplishments are based on the contributions of so many others. I want to first thank the three wonderful Managing Editors who have provided essential support to the Journal throughout my tenure: Bethany Gerdin, Ashley Lyle, and Kjerstie Wiltzen. I must also acknowledge the incredible Editorial Board, which has provided me with guidance and leadership throughout my Editorship. The superb partnership we developed with Lauren Hunt and SAGE Publications facilitated our listing of the Journal of Applied Gerontology on PubMed/MEDLINE and our more recent success in increasing the circulation, impact factor, and journal ranking. The Southern Gerontological Society (SGS)’s Publications Committee (and in particular the committee’s Chair, Connie Coogle) were wonderful partners in our efforts and offered an important connection to the SGS leadership and members. LeeAnn Ferguson, the SGS Association Manager, was pivotal in championing the Journal within and well beyond SGS. The welcoming and supportive executive leadership and membership of SGS also stand out to me as among the most positive aspects of editing the Journal of Applied Gerontology. A peer-reviewed journal is not possible without great reviewers, and I wanted to thank the hundreds, if not thousands, of peer reviewers who have helped the Journal maintain a high scientific standard. Finally, I must thank my predecessor, Malcolm Cutchin, for his mentorship throughout my time as Editor.
I cannot tell you how excited I am that Dr. Julie Robison is assuming the Editorship of the Journal of Applied Gerontology. She has long served the Journal as a member of the Editorial Board and is a nationally recognized scholar in long-term services and supports for older adults. She also has editing “in her blood,” literally: Her grandfather was the Editor-in-Chief of LIFE magazine, and after his retirement, he was a founding Editor of Smithsonian magazine. Her father was also Editor-in-Chief for Reader’s Digest. I have little doubt she will not only continue the growth of the Journal of Applied Gerontology but will take the Journal in new, exciting directions.
I am so grateful to so many of you for this opportunity to serve the Journal of Applied Gerontology. It is humbling to think that I am the longest-serving Editor of this wonderful journal, and I hope that I have been able to play at least a small part in its success over these past few years. I wanted to leave you, the readers of the Journal of Applied Gerontology, with a special article from Dr. Erdman Palmore, a renowned gerontologist and Professor Emeritus of Medical Sociology at Duke University. In many ways, this compelling depiction of Dr. Palmore’s personal odyssey “into gerontology” highlights what we all strive to accomplish and achieve as individuals, family members and friends, and applied gerontologists. May his article and the others in the current, past, and future issues of the Journal of Applied Gerontology continue to inspire our and others’ journeys toward optimal aging.