Randy Townsend, MPS, was announced as the inaugural Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of the GW Journal of Ethics in Publishing, a student-managed publication hosted by the Masters of Professional Studies in publishing program, within the College of Professional Studies at The George Washington University.
Townsend, a 2011 graduate of GW’s MPS in Publishing program, has extensive experience in the publishing industry, including more than 14 years of experience executing the American Geophysical Union’s publishing department’s strategic goals and portfolio of scholarly journals. He also serves on the Advisory Board for the Association Media & Publishing and co-chairs the Society of Scholarly Publishing’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee, amongst numerous other boards and committees.
As the EIC, Townsend will be responsible for setting the vision for the Journal of Ethics in Publishing, including the full gamut of duties such as: soliciting and overseeing submissions, working with peer reviewers, developing a peer review strategy, maintaining high editorial quality and collaborating with the publishing program’s community of GW faculty and students.
“I am excited to serve the GW Journal of Ethics in Publishing as the inaugural Editor-in-Chief,” says Townsend. “I have spent much of my career focused on varying aspects of ethical considerations and the impacts of misconduct and have remained engaged as the publishing industry embraces equity, inclusion and diversity. The unusual circumstances of today have revealed new challenges to the moral compass of the publishing landscape and opportunities for both personal and organizational growth. The GW Journal of Ethics in Publishing will help navigate through grey areas of uncertainty and lead discussions of introspection and evolution.”
The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP), a nonprofit organization formed to promote and advance communication among all sectors of the scholarly publication community, will be an official sponsor of the new journal.
The new, student-managed publication will be an open-access resource, free for anyone to access online. The new journal welcomes articles, case studies, and conference presentations from scholars, students, and publishing professionals on topics including, but not limited to, diversity and inclusion, accessibility, peer review, open access, sustainability, publishing metrics, equity, and other aspects and issues of ethics in publishing. Call for Papers