Introduction

• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/lsq.12103
• Author: Brian F. Crisp
• Published date: 01 February 2016
• Date: 01 February 2016

Introduction

While attending a conference on legislative studies in 1969,

Gerhard (Jerry) Loewenberg and Malcom (Mac) Jewell listened as Heinz

Eulau made the case for why the f‌ield was in need of a journal of its

own. Five years later, while Mac was a visiting scholar at The University

of Iowa where Jerry directed the Comparative Legislative Research

Center, the two decided, on a “lark,” to found the Legislative Studies

Quarterly. Given Jerry’s background in comparative politics and Mac’s

background in congressional, state, and local politics, one of their found-

ing principles was the desire to create a cohesive f‌ield of study where

prominent work on legislatures in each of their f‌ields would be

published.

With the volunteer help of fellow faculty members, graduate stu-

dents, and staff at their universities, they, “f‌lying by the seat of [their]

pants,” were able to put together the f‌irst issue of LSQ in just over one

year. Before that f‌irst issue went in the mail, Jerry made a decision that

“turned out to be decisive for the success of the new journal.” He hired

Michelle L. “Mickie” Wiegand. Putting it succinctly, Jerry noted that

when it came to running the journal, “Mickie did everything ....” In

1976, Mickie thought that offering three-year subscriptions was a bit

optimistic. Thanks in no small part to her efforts, 40 years later, a three-

year subscription is still an option.

In its f‌irst year, LSQ received 91 submissions and had an accep-

tance rate of 17%. It had approximately 500 subscribers—300 of them

individuals and 200 libraries. By way of comparison, in 2014, LSQ

received about 200 submissions with an average acceptance rate of 14%.

It had approximately 580 individual subscribers and was available

through institutional subscriptions at over 4,500 universities, colleges,

research institutes, and libraries throughout the world.

Jerry and Mac’s “three-year experiment” is now an internationally

recognized academic journal, having helped cultivate and shape legisla-

tive studies by subjecting some of the best research in the f‌ield to the

peer-review process and then distributing it around the globe. Given its

success, it is with some trepidation that I take over as the next steward of

LSQ. The decision that the journal should move to the Department of

LEGISLATIVE STUDIES QUARTERLY, 41, 1, February 2016 3

DOI: 10.1111/lsq.12103

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