Editorial
Thank You
This is my final issue as executive editor of the Journal of Architectural Education. It is bittersweet to write that, but as it has been said, term limits are a good thing. My involvement with the JAE began as an author and reviewer, and then as a board member. After three years on the board, I was selected to become the executive editor for a four-year term, after which I continued on for a second term. I inherited a board that was primed for change. Graham Livesey, who was the interim editor prior to my tenure, very much set up my first term for success. As a board, we redesigned the physical journal and launched a new website that included all of the content of the journal’s now seventy-five-year history. We rewrote policies and procedures and, after a few issues, settled into an editorial direction that continues with this issue. Our board remains diverse both in thought and representation. And over the years, it has proven to be a group of people with whom I have enjoyed sharing conversation, debate, and even a few glasses of wine with. I will miss being on the board.
The journal, of course, does not exist without all of the authors writing compelling and ideally timeless scholarship. So much work, however, goes on unnoticed and behind the scenes. Each essay requires multiple reviewers. Our theme editors help to manage the process by setting the theme, editing the selected papers, and soliciting content for each issue. I have had the privilege of working with outstanding associate editors. Amy Catania Kulper and Carolina Dayer have completely transformed the design content in the journal. Their tireless work with the design committee has dramatically increased the quality of the design essays in the journal. They introduced a series of new types of content, both visual and textual. Ivan Rupnik and David Theodore led a complete overhaul of the way in which the JAE reviews material, as well as the volume of reviews we now complete. A quick look at JAEOnline.org shows just how far we have come.
The JAE is one of the two journals of ACSA and we have had the honor to work with the staff who are really the ones making the sausage. Pascale Vonier, Amanda Gann, and Carol Mannix have all managed the mechanics of the production of the journal with composure, calm, and an incredible attention to detail. We have enjoyed continued support from the ACSA Executive Committee. And the guidance from Michael Monti, the executive director of ACSA, has been steadfast. The entire staff at ACSA have been an amazing source of support and each one has stepped in to help the journal at one point or another.
The end of my term coincides with the seventy-fifth anniversary of the journal. In recognition of that anniversary, Sara Stevens, Igor Marjanović, and I read through the entire catalog to publish an edited collection representing the tenure of the journal. Sara and Igor made the entire process a delightful experience—they are both as generous with their time as they are knowledgeable. During the review of all of the essays, the one constant was change. It is a platitude, for sure, but the journal, decade after decade, continues to evolve. Authors, editors, board members, ACSA staff and leadership, and even the journal’s logo, all came and went, but the journal remains. I like to think that change allows for growth.
Nora Wendl will have taken over as the executive editor by the time this introduction is printed. I wish Nora and the board nothing but success. I hope we have left the journal a little bit better than we found it.
Thank you all,
marc
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