A SEAT AT THE EDITORIAL TABLE: EARLY-CAREER EDITORS AS PARTNERS, NOT TRAINEES

Early-career researchers (ECRs) are central to evolving norms around open science, equity, and reproducibility in publishing. However, there are very limited opportunities in publishing, particularly with professional societies, to help shape the conversation around these topics. In 2016, Limnology and Oceanography Letters and ASLO launched the Raelyn Cole Editorial Fellowship (RCEF), a two-year program designed to give Fellows a sustained “seat at the table” as partners in society publishing. Our 2021 article described the initial vision and framework for this two-way model of engagement between early-career Fellows and Editors, professional societies, and journals. Now, we ask: what has this experiment achieved, and what can other society journals learn from it? In this talk, the founding Editor-in-Chief and the program’s first Fellow will reflect on the RCEF’s design, evolution, and impacts. We will (1) summarize the fellowship model and its society–publisher partnership; (2) present indicators of impact including recent editorial fellowships and early-career editorial boards that build on or parallel this model; and (3) position the RCEF along a spectrum that ranges from one-way “apprenticeship” initiatives to genuine power-sharing with ECRs. We close with concrete lessons and recommendations for editors, societies, publishers, and ECRs about what it takes to move from symbolic inclusion to meaningful influence for early-career editors in scientific publishing.

Presentation Preference: Standard Oral (12 Minutes)

Primary Presenter: Patricia Soranno, Michigan State University (soranno@msu.edu)

Authors:

Patricia Soranno, Michigan State University  (soranno@msu.edu)

Laura Falkenberg, University of South Australia  (lobulletin-editor@aslo.org)