Research in Higher Education - Editorial board changes - 2021

Effective January 1, 2020 Robert Toutkoushian will step down as Editor in Chief and I will begin my term in this role.

Rob Toutkoushian has been an absolutely outstanding Editor in Chief for Research in Higher Education. During his leadership, he oversaw a rapid expansion in the journal’s size and scale. By every metric, Research in Higher Education has a deeper impact on the field of higher education than it did when he began. I have worked with Rob since 2014, and I have been deeply impressed by his fairness, his commitment to transparency, and his combination of ensuring rigor while being attentive to the diverse set of perspectives in the field of higher education. Rob taught me to approach the process of editing as an opportunity to improve every manuscript, and he has been instrumental in guiding authors to improve their manuscripts. The field of higher education owes a debt of gratitude for the selfless work that Rob has done as Editor in Chief of Research in Higher Education.

In addition to Rob’s departure, Audrey Jaeger will also be stepping down as associate editor. Audrey or “A.J.”, as she is known, has managed her responsibilities as associate editor while also undertaking professional responsibilities that appear to be constitue two or three other full-time positions. Along with Rob, A.J. has demonstrated a commitment to developing and improving manuscripts as they move forward to publication. Authors have remarked on how A.J. as an editor has helped them create considerably improved finished work. It has been an absolute pleasure to serve alongside AJ as an associate editor.

Joining me as associate editors will be Frim Ampaw, Professor at Central Michigan University, Marvin Titus from the University of Maryland, and Lauren Schudde from the University of Texas at Austin. All of the associate editors are outstanding academics in their own right who have made substantial contributions to the field of higher education. I feel truly lucky to be working with such an outstanding editorial team, one which represents the diversity of the field in terms of their theoretical and empirical approaches to research.

The primary theme of this transition will be continuity. Authors can expect the same high standards to be applied as were previously. We have an outstanding consulting editorial board that will help to ensure that articles accepted for publication will continue to be of the very highest quality and make a significant contribution to the field. Research in Higher Education will continue to publish research on a wide array of topics pertaining to higher education. Although all forms of scholarship will be considered for publication, the journal has been best known in the field for its emphasis on quantitatively-oriented studies of higher education. That said, I strongly encourage submissions that represent the full diversity of theoretical approaches to the field of higher education. The journal will also continue to encourage submissions from disciplines outside of higher education, including economics, political science, sociology, and psychology. My goal as editor is to maintain the rigor of the journal, while ensuring that authors receive timely and constructive feedback on their manuscripts. In addition, I will work with our editorial team to be transparent about our editorial processes. Along with those goals, I will strive to work with authors to maximize the impact of their work by communicating their results to policymakers and practitioners.

I personally have benefited tremendously from the expert guidance I received from past editors of Research in Higher Education (I fondly remember receiving the distinctive grey envelopes from John Smart when he was editor). I am honored to do my part in continuing to make Research in Higher Education a high-quality outlet for important findings in the field of higher education.

Will Doyle

Editor, Research in Higher Education (w.doyle@vanderbilt.edu)