Abstract
Search for Editor
State Politics and Policy Quarterly
The president of the State Politics and Policy section of the American Political Science Association, Caroline Tolbert, announces the formation of a search committee to solicit proposals for a new editor or editorial team for State Politics and Policy Quarterly. A highly qualified person or team of persons is sought for a four-year term to edit manuscripts that are submitted to SPPQ between June 2014 and May 2018. Nominations as well as proposals are encouraged.
Information about State Politics and Policy Quarterly:
First published in 2001, SPPQ is the official journal of the State Politics and Policy section of the APSA, and it is published under contract with the section by Sage. It is a peer-reviewed, scholarly journal publishing high quality academic studies that develop general hypotheses of political behavior, institutions, and policymaking and test these hypotheses using the unique methodological advantages of the U.S. states and other sub-national governments worldwide.
SPPQ has developed an impeccable reputation for attracting and developing top-quality scholarship through superior editorial service to authors. It is carried by 14 abstracting and indexing services, including the Thomson/ISI Social Science Citation Index and JSTOR. New opportunities are also in the offing to improve the journal’s ability to serve the field. For example, a new data replication web site will be on-line soon, and the Sage web site has the capacity to carry on-line-only material, such as auxiliary material for published articles or even full-blown special issues.
The current editor is Thomas M. Carsey of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. An associate editor, Nancy Martorano Miller of the University of Dayton, is responsible for soliciting and reviewing manuscripts for The Practical Researcher section of SPPQ and developing and maintaining the SPPQ Data Resource Web site (http://academic.udayton.edu/SPPQ-TPR/index.htm). Both Carsey’s and Miller’s terms will expire with manuscripts submitted in May 2014. The search committee is interested in editor candidates’ thought about how to proceed with The Practical Researcher and the associate editor position.
In addition to the journal, the editor will work closely with the State Politics and Policy section officers to enhance the journal and scholarship in the field. The section is a vibrant and growing unit of the APSA, currently with approximately 450 members (for more information on the section, see: http://www.olemiss.edu/depts/political_science/state_politics/index.htm).
Duties of the editor include:
Soliciting and developing promising manuscripts for submission to the journal,
Maintain, updating and improving a robust stable of reviewers,
Sponsoring annual editorial board meetings and reporting to the board information on the operation of the journal, and
Continuing to improve the scope and contribution of the journal through such means as developing innovative uses of the web and other efforts to reach a broader readership.
Information for Prospective Editors:
The new editor will have complete editorial responsibility for SPPQ, within the journal’s established guidelines. He or she can expect to review 75-100 manuscripts per year, publishing 16-20 articles. Soliciting and developing promising manuscripts are among the editor’s most important responsibilities.
The editor’s home institution is expected to provide some support for the editor, such as:
Most important–course release time for the editor (preferably, the editor would teach no more than a 1-1 load).
A 12-month graduate assistant or some other form of administrative support.
Minimal postage and stationery supplies.
Sage provides the editor with $5,000/year for travel support and other expenses incurred by the editor. Each proposal should spell out what sort of university support the proposer would receive to edit the journal, if any.
The precise timing of the takeover of editorial duties and other business arrangements are subject to negotiation, but the tentative date for the new editor to begin receiving new manuscripts is June 1, 2014.
Search Committee:
Christopher Z. Mooney, University of Illinois at Springfield (
Shaun Bowler, University of California, Riverside (
Thomas Carsey, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (
Virginia Gray, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (
Kenneth J. Meier, Texas A&M University (
Carol Weissert, Florida State University (
Richard Winters, Dartmouth College (
To Apply:
Candidates should email (as PDF attachments) the following information to the chair of the search committee (
A letter of interest explaining the candidate’s (or team of candidates’) relevant experience, goals for the journal, ideas for innovations or changes (if any), and a discussion of the resource support to be provided by his or her home institution.
A current curriculum vita for each member of the editorial team.
Any proposal for a team of editors should also provide some discussion of the proposed arrangement of responsibilities among the team members.
Nominations and Questions:
If you wish to nominate a person to serve as editor or if you have questions about the journal or the position of editor, please contact the chair of the search committee:
Christopher Z. Mooney
University of Illinois at Springfield, PAC 451
One University Plaza
Springfield, IL 62703-5406
Email:
Voice: 217-206-6573
Fax: 217-206-7397