Calls for nominations: Society, journal, and magazine editorial positions
ASA, CSSA, and SSSA seek nominations for an incoming Editor of The Plant Phenome Journal, Editor-in-Chief of CSSA, Editor-in-Chief of SSSA, and two Regional Editors (West Region and Northern Great Plains) for Crops & Soils magazine. Candidates for each of the positions are appointed to a three-year term of service to begin 1 Jan. 2022, with eligibility for a second three-year term, but not a third term without an intervening three-year period. The positions are appointed by the Society’s presidents and carry a great deal of responsibility as well as personal satisfaction. For the Editor-in-Chief and journal Editor positions, prior editorial experience with ASA, CSSA, or SSSA publications or those having similar subject matter/structure is required, and it is expected that the candidates chosen will be able to attend the 2021 International Annual Meeting, which will be held 7–10 November in Salt Lake City, UT, allowing for a timely and smooth transition into the position.
Position Duties
CSSA Editor-in-Chief and SSSA Editor-in-Chief
The CSSA Editor-in-Chief and SSSA Editor-in-Chief (two distinct positions) are expected to provide visionary leadership for Society publications and the scholarly communication of its members as well as implementing the editorial policies established by the publishing Society’s Board of Directors.
The market landscape and business models for scholarly communication are undergoing rapid evolution, and Society publishing needs to embrace the transition. Drivers of the evolution include funding body mandates, federal open science regulations, open science adoption, and open access business models. The pressure for publication and curation of data sets coupled with improved knowledge translation is accelerating the changes in publication. Increased pressure for transparency, repeatability, and reproducibility in science is also emerging. The Editor-in-Chief should be well versed in or eager to learn about current trends in scholarly communication and excited about opportunities to innovate to ensure the sustainability of our publications while growing the profile and impact of our membership’s science products.
The Editor-in-Chief will:
- participate and engage in discussions between the ACSESS Publications leadership and publishing partner regarding opportunities and strategies to embrace open science;
- collaborate with ACSESS Director of Publications in identifying and prioritizing innovations with potential to increase visibility and use of publications and educational materials;
- advise the ACSESS CEO and Executive Committee(s) on emerging issues and opportunities in scholarly communication;
- act as an adviser to the staff of CSA News magazine, propose development of focus issues, member profiles, story ideas, etc. and provide subject matter expert guidance;
- represent their individual branches of science and work in conjunction wi
- th the other Society editors-in-chief on development of major publishing initiatives with support from staff; and
- serve on various committees in addition to other responsibilities.
The Plant Phenome Journal Editor
Candidates for The Plant Phenome Journal Editor are expected to be visionary, as the publication ecosystem is experiencing rapid changes in scientific content delivery as well as publishing models. In addition, there is fierce competition for authors and readers.
Duties and responsibilities of the Editor position include, but are not limited to:
- providing leadership for the journal, promoting scholarship in the science targeted by the journal, promoting manuscript submission, and providing peer review for researchers and authors;
- acting as ambassador of the journal to international communities to raise the quality of science;
- collaborating in the development, implementation, and communication of vision for the journal;
- being responsible for maintaining the journal’s quality content standards, objectives, and metrics;
- striving to advance scientific publishing to ensure the high standards of reliability, accessibility, openness, and integrity of the scientific enterprise;
- promoting broad ethical and communal interests of science in support of Society diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives;
- appointing Associate Editors to the journal’s editorial board on behalf of the Society’s President; and
- serving as a member of the Societies’ Editorial Affairs, Policies, and Practices Committee among other responsibilities.
Crops & Soils Magazine Regional Editor
Candidates for the two distinct Crops & Soils magazine Regional Editor positions should be passionate about serving the practicing professional community and getting the best research-based practices down to the farm level. The must either work or have experience in either the Western U.S. or the Northern Great Plains.
Crops & Soils magazine is distributed to more than 16,000 readers, most of which are Certified Crop Advisers (CCAs). By serving as a Regional Editor for this magazine, you could have a huge potential impact on acres across North America as CCAs are estimated to be involved in advising somewhere between half and three-quarters of the crop production acres in the U.S.!
Duties and responsibilities of the Regional Editor position include:
- representing a region on the board;
- providing four to six stories or story ideas each year for the magazine (either written by a subject matter expert or written by the magazine staff at the direction of the editor), which will be of interest to readers in the geographic region they represent, and/or of general interest across North America; and
- providing feedback to magazine staff or answering technical questions from time to time.
Nomination Procedure, Deadline
These positions are appointed by the Society’s president upon confirmation by its Board of Directors. Interested persons may nominate themselves or be nominated by an active member of ASA, CSSA, or SSSA. Candidates for the Editor-in-Chief and journal Editor positions should email (i) a vita including a list of previous editorial experience and (ii) a vision statement for the position not exceeding one page. Candidates for the Crops & Soils magazine Regional Editor positions should email a paragraph or two about their interest in and qualifications for the position.
Submit nominations for the CSSA Editor-in-Chief position no later than 1 June 2021 to CSSA President Vara Prasad (Send Message). Please contact Dr. Prasad for a complete position description or with any questions.
Submit nominations for the SSSA Editor-in-Chief position no later than 1 June 2021 to ACSESS Director of Publications Matt Wascavage (Send Message). Please contact SSSA Editor-in-Chief David Myrold (Send Message) for a complete position description or with any questions.
Submit nominations for The Plant Phenome Journal Editor position no later than 1 June 2021 to ASA President and Interim ASA Editor-in-Chief Jeff Volenec (Send Message). Please contact Dr. Volenec for a complete position description or with any questions.
Submit nominations for the two Crops & Soils magazine Regional Editor positions no later than 1 June 2021 to ACSESS Managing Editor of Magazines Matt Nilsson (Send Message). Please contact Mr. Nilsson for a complete position description or with any questions.
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