From the Editor’s Desk
Nathan L. Vanderford, University of Kentucky
The Journal of Research Administration (JRA) is the premier scholarly publication for the field of research administration and management. We publish timely work that covers all facets of our discipline. The journal is an important education and career development platform. Our authors share best practices and innovative means of performing research administration and management work in our fast-paced, ever-changing environments while also enhancing their own careers through the process of publishing peer-reviewed scholarly journal articles.
In many regards, 2020 was a difficult year as we dealt with the challenges brought to us by COVID-19. Undoubtedly, COVID-19 brought both professional and personal challenges to all of you—it certainly did for me. Despite the global pandemic, however, authors continued writing and submitting articles at a steady rate, and our editorial board remained busy working alongside the authors to prepare new articles for publication. During these challenging times, it has been refreshing and energizing to see the work of the journal continue and thrive.
In the current issue, we are publishing five original articles and a voice of experience essay. It is very exciting that we continue to publish articles that come to us from all over the world. The journal's international reach is a testament to how research administration is a vital part of the global interconnection of research in general. In that spirit, in this issue's voice of experience essay, Simon Kerridge from the University of Kent discusses threads of the global nature of research administration and management in his article titled “Research Administration Around the World. In Developing Research Culture: An Outcomes Perspective,” Michelle Mae Olvido shares her investigation of the development of research culture among seven institutions in the Philippines using the Gestation-Expansion-Maturation Theory. Abdelilah Salim Sehlaoui and colleagues describe factors associated with faculty at a primarily teaching college who are pursuing research funding in their article titled “Motivating Factors and Obstacles behind Grant Research: The Case of a Teaching-Focused State College.” In the article “Development of a Clinical Research Consortium Position Interview Panel within the Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System,” Marcus Johnson led a group of colleagues that developed a manager interview panel that aided in selecting clinical research managers in the United States (U.S.) Department of Veterans Affairs health system. In “Research Integrity Officers' Responsibilities and Perspectives on Data Management Plan Compliance and Evaluation,” Bradley Bishop and colleagues report on their findings from interviews with U.S. research integrity officers on their roles and perspectives related to data management plans. Finally, Junko Shimazoe from the Japan External Trade Organization describes human and organizational behavior of research managers and administrators related to organizational engagement and professional growth in his article “Research Managers and Administrators in Conflicting Organizational Cultures: How Does Their Human Capital Help Professional Survival in Knowledge-Intensive Organizations?” I hope you enjoy reading these articles.
In adopting a common standard in scholarly publishing, I am excited to formally announce that beginning later in 2021 we will start pre-publishing articles online soon after they have been formally accepted. This early publication service will work as follows: Once accepted, an article will be copyedited, proofed by the authors, and then posted on the JRA's webpage within the framework of the issue in which the article will eventually be published. New, full JRA issues will continue to be published according to our regular fall and spring schedule. We believe this will be a great service to our authors as their work will be published online soon after acceptance in a discoverable and citable form. We also believe that this will further entice potential authors to consider JRA for their publishing needs.
Beyond this current business, it is with mixed emotions that I share the news that this marks my last issue as editor-in-chief of the journal. In June, I will return to being an editorial board member as someone else takes over the journal's leadership. My six years of leadership with the journal, first as deputy editor and then as editor-in-chief, has been deeply rewarding. It has been a personal pleasure working with the editorial board and SRAI staff to publish manuscripts authored by gifted research administrators from around the world. It was a very humbling experience to be the editor as the journal celebrated its 50th year of publishing in 2019. When we re-published the first issue of the journal to celebrate our anniversary milestone, it was incredible to see where we started and how far we have come as a discipline. It was also informative to see how we continue to work to improve some of the same areas of our field even after 50 years, including enhancing our profession's diversity and inclusivity.
The editor's job truly is a labor of love. The editor has the privilege of working with authors who are oftentimes publishing their very first scholarly article or with those truly remarkable research administration scholars who publish frequently. It is truly very rewarding to see each article transform into its final form as it moves through the peer review and publication process. Each letter of acceptance and the subsequently published article is a milestone for the authors and their institutions, the peer reviewers, the journal as a whole, and the broad field of research administration. I am deeply indebted to the many authors who decided to publish their work with the journal over the years. Thank you.
The JRA is in a strong position today; as mentioned above, we are receiving a steady stream of outstanding manuscripts written by colleagues from around the world. To get to our strong position, in addition to authors submitting impactful articles, it takes a smooth operating village to run the journal. Over the years, I have been blessed with a very talented leadership team with Deputy Editor, Dr. Jennifer Taylor, and Associate Editor, Holly Zink. I thank Jennifer and Holly for their hard work and dedication to continuously improving the journal. The journal's editorial board represents a collection of dedicated, hardworking, and talented colleagues that guide each submitted article to its final published form. It has been such a joy working with the board members and getting to know them professionally and personally. I also thank the Author Fellowship Committee, including Amy Cuhel-Schuckers, Deborah Derrick, Carson Harrod, Alicen Nickson, Simon Kerridge, Jorja Kimball, and Holly Zink, and all the Author Fellow Advisors for their tireless work to assist the Author Fellows as they develop and publish their first scholarly articles. The Author Fellowship Program has genuinely had a transformative impact on its participants and the journal overall. Many thanks are also given to the incredible behind-the-scenes work of former SRAI staff member Dilyana Williams and current staff members Gina Cuevas and Jim Mitchell. SRAI staff are critical to the publication of every issue of the journal. I owe extraordinary gratitude to Dilyana and Gina. Their outstanding organizational skills, dedication, loyalty, and high spirits are the cornerstones of moving JRA forward with each article and each issue. Likewise, Jim's careful assembly of each article into the final published issue is a true work of art. I also thank SRAI for trusting me with the stewardship of JRA; it has been a great privilege. Lastly, and very importantly, I thank former Editor-in-Chief, Tim Linker, for his mentorship and friendship over these last six years. The journal is in its current strong position today because of Tim's leadership and vision.
I look forward to working with the new editor, and I do not doubt that the journal will continue to grow and thrive.
Lastly, and as always, if you are a non-SRAI member and wish to have the journal delivered to you via email, please sign up through the online system at http://www.journalra.org.