Although he’ll be on the job until the end of 2001, the search for a successor to JADA Editor Lawrence H. Meskin has already begun.
At its meeting in September, the Board of Directors of ADA Business Enterprises Inc.—the ADA subsidiary that includes the publishing division—approved a "transition plan" that called for a search committee to begin the process of finding a new editor for The Journal of the American Dental Association.
The eight-member committee, now in place, includes practicing dentists, dental researchers and educators, publishing professionals, editors and ADA leaders.
The committee’s role is to review applications from prospective candidates, interview those who appear most qualified, narrow the field and make a recommendation to the ADABEI Board at its August 2001 meeting.
The Board itself expects to appoint a new editor by Oct. 1, informing the ADA Board of Trustees of its choice before next year’s annual session. The new editor would be in place three months before Dr. Meskin’s departure, allowing for a smooth transition.
During his decade with JADA, Dr. Meskin has worked off-site for ADA Publishing out of his office at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver. He reports to the publisher.
The new editor also will work off-site with a three-year term that can be renewed by mutual consent of the editor and ADABEI. It’s estimated that the new editor will need to devote about one-third of his or her time to The Journal.
The editor’s duties include acquiring, assembling, reviewing and editing all clinical and scientific articles to be published in JADA. The editor also advises ADA Publishing staff on content, oversees the peer-review process and has final review over all of JADA’s editorial content.
Also, the new editor will be required to handle the manuscript submission and peer-review process out of his or her own office. Such tasks currently are managed at JADA headquarters. The editor’s remuneration will be sufficient to employ a staff assistant to help manage the process.
To qualify for the editorship, candidates must have a dental degree from an accredited U.S. dental school, be a member in good standing of the ADA and meet as many of the following criteria as possible:
- – a minimum of 10 to 15 years’ experience in clinical dental practice, research or education;
- – recognition in dentistry’s education/research community;
- – extensive publication experience, mainly in journals, secondarily in books;
- – previous experience as an editor or associate editor, or service on an editorial board of a journal;
- – knowledge of organized dentistry, possibly through service in an elective or appointive position at the local, state or national levels;
- – a strong awareness of issues facing dentistry and health care today, and a sense of what practicing dentists need and expect from their professional journal;
- – innovative ideas and an ability to translate them into reality, as well as a broad understanding of the dental field, its literature and its relation to other areas in health care;
- – willingness to work within the organizational framework of the ADA and its subsidiary, including attendance at various Board meetings;
- – willingness to accept advice and counsel of the publisher, editorial board, associate editors and the ADA Publishing staff.
Dentists interested in the JADA editorship can obtain an application and position description by contacting Ms. Laura A. Kosden, Publisher and COO, ADA Publishing Division, ADA Business Enterprises Inc., Suite 2010, 211 E. Chicago Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60611.
Ms. Kosden also can be reached by phone at 1-312-440-4671, by fax at 1-312-440-3538 or by e-mail at "kosdenl{at}ada.org".
Along with the application, prospective candidates will be asked to provide a statement of intent and a curriculum vitae. The deadline for submission of applications is March 31, 2001.
