Executive Editor’s message: Change (Sep 2017)

Change will soon be upon us at the Journal of Swine Health and Production (JSHAP), as we are getting ready to wish our associate editor, Dr Judi Bell, a happy retirement. Judi will be retiring at the end of the year. It makes me quite sad that Judi will be finishing her tenure with the journal, as it is never easy when a team member moves on to different things. Judi has been a paramount teammate of the journal staff for a long time. She has contributed immensely to the high quality of the manuscripts published, paying attention to each small detail to ensure that each journal issue is completed with excellence! While I am sad for this change, I am also very happy for her, and I wish her all the very best as she moves on to new adventures.

With this news of Judi’s pending retirement, the AASV is requesting applications for associate editor of JSHAP. I remember when I applied to be the executive editor of the journal. The job description and responsibilities list seemed very daunting. I interviewed with Drs Cate Dewey and Tom Burkgren at the 2012 AASV Annual Meeting in Denver, Colorado. I remember sitting in the interview with a really bad headache and thought there is no way Cate or Tom could possibly think I was smart as my head was throbbing and I don’t recall any of my answers to their questions. I soon learned that I had altitude sickness and luckily it passed with a few good sleeps and some ibuprofen. Not sure why I shared that story except perhaps to say that the associate editor’s job description and responsibilities seem daunting as well. However, the new associate editor will work alongside the JSHAP and AASV staff team and I can personally say from experience that the team is terrific at welcoming and supporting newcomers!

The role of the associate editor is quite comprehensive and I think in order to fully describe the duties of the associate editor would require a step by step explanation of the lifecycle of a manuscript. However, my word count is limited so I will summarize key qualifications and responsibilities here. Most importantly, the applicant should have experience in scientific writing and editing and possess excellent organizational, interpersonal, and communication skills. Ideally, a background in swine health and production and an advanced degree (MS, DVM, PhD or equivalent) would also be preferred. The job requires the individual to work with the authors and to copy edit the manuscripts in preparation for publication. To summarize, this involves converting the manuscripts to the JSHAP style (currently AMA style), editing for scientific grammar and style, preparing an expository summary for the authors, and proofreading the final manuscript and “all page final” of the entire journal. The journal staff meet by teleconference bimonthly after the publication of each issue and at other times when necessary. The individual will be required and expected to work unsupervised and be able to adhere to strict deadlines. If there are any questions please do not hesitate to contact myself or the AASV office.

I encourage anyone who has an interest in becoming the next associate editor of the Journal of Swine Health and Production to please forward a letter of interest and your curriculum vitae to Dr Tom Burkgren at the AASV office at aasv@aasv.org.

Terri O’Sullivan, DVM, PhD
Executive Editor