It Takes a Global Community of Scholars to Sustain a Journal

• Date: 01 September 2013
• Author: Andrea D. Ellinger
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/hrdq.21168
• Published date: 01 September 2013

It Takes a Global Community of

Scholars to Sustain a Journal

Andrea D. Ellinger

I am delighted to have the opportunity to serve as the new editor of Human

Resource Development Quarterly (HRDQ). Although I was appointed to the

editorial team in 2009 as associate editor under the editorship of Dr. Baiyin

Yang, my commitment to the journal precedes this appointment. I began

reviewing for the journal in 1998 and have served two consecutive terms on

the editorial board in support of the journal. I have also been a published

author over the years.

Like all of the editors before me, Richard A. Swanson, Gary N. McLean,

Ronald L. Jacobs, Darlene F. Russ-Eft, Timothy G. Hatcher, and Baiyin Yang, I

fully appreciate the dedication that is required of an editor, and the important

role of refereed journals in our academic community. As Swanson (2009) has

eloquently articulated, “Research is the soul of any respected academic disci-

pline. Research journals are the primary vehicle for displaying scholarship in

a discipline. They are the single most important anchor if any discipline is to

be honored, protected, and celebrated” (p. 4).

Human Resource Development Quarterly has evolved from its humble

beginnings. It celebrated its 20th birthday in 2009 and is now poised for its

silver anniversary celebration with the impending publication of volume 25 in

2014. Having witnessed many transitions in recent years, including the adop-

tion of an online manuscript submission system, ScholarOne, and SSCI/ISI

indexing in 2010, the journal has experienced an increase in manuscript sub-

missions that has required a reenvisioning of its structure. In 2012, we

received over 200 submissions, suggesting the need to build internal capacity

to ensure timely and responsive operations.

Preparing for the Transition of HRDQ to The University

of Texas at Tyler

In the months leading up to the editorial transition on January 1, 2013, I

consulted several current and past editors of human resource development

and management journals and determined that a multi–associate editor

EDITORIAL

HUMAN RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT QUARTERLY, vol. 24, no. 3, Fall 2013 © Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/hrdq.21168 277