That’s the Spirit

I hope you’re looking forward to the upcoming CSE Annual Meeting (May 4-7, 2019) as much as I am. I’ve only missed one CSE meeting this decade, and that’s because my youngest child was born two days after that meeting wrapped. (Me: It looks like I could have gone after all. My wife: …)

I find the CSE Annual Meeting to be an invigorating experience, charging my professional batteries for the rest of the year. Every meeting, hundreds of professionals interested in advancing and improving scientific editing and publishing gather to share experiences and innovations, discuss best practices and tough challenges, and share thoughts on where we’re heading and how best to get there. .

The full program is expected to be released later this week, and as a sneak peek, the program co-chairs, Mary Billingsley & Shari Leventhal, have provided a wonderful preview of the meeting and this year’s theme: The Spirit of Scientific Publishing: Inclusion, Identity, Technology, & Beyond.

One of the signs of a great meeting is that going through the program can be a frustrating experience: typically, there are too many great sessions for one person and tough choices abound. Luckily, a group of dedicated individuals provide wonderful meeting reports for Science Editor, recapping the highlights and sharing what they learned. I’ve lost track of how many times at work I’ve referred to a meeting report or the meeting archive to help with a problem or find a way forward. If you’d like to volunteer as a meeting reporter this year, see below.

This newsletter was tough to write as it’s hard to narrow down all that’s great about the CSE Annual Meeting. So, I’ll wrap this section up by highlighting the sense of community and optimism of the meeting. Whether its promoting diversity and inclusion in speaker selection, providing platforms and events for early career professionals, including networking opportunities like dinner conversations and roundtables, each CSE Annual Meeting is an excellent opportunity to really connect and learn from your fellow professionals in an open and inviting environment. It’s been a tumultuous decade, but I’ve never found CSE to be a fearful meeting, with speakers and attendees scared of change. I think that’s partly because even when things are tough, there is always a sense that someone at the meeting has been through it too, found a way forward, and is eager to share. And maybe this year, that someone will be you.

Jonathan Schultz
Editor-in-Chief, Science Editor

PS: If you haven’t already registered, what are you waiting for?!? Register here.

ANNOUNCEMENT: Call for Meeting Reporters

Are you looking to get the most out of the CSE Annual Meeting, while contributing to CSE and Science Editor at the same time? Then consider serving as an Annual Meeting Session reporter.

Reports on the CSE Annual Meeting sessions are very important to the readers of Science Editor, especially those who cannot attend the meeting or a concurrent session. Serving as an Annual Meeting Reporter is a great way for first-time attendees or newer members to become involved in CSE, an opportunity to meet speakers and moderators covering topics of interest, and a chance to have an article published in Science Editor.

If you are interested in serving as a meeting reporter, please email us at scienceeditor@councilscienceeditors.org by April 15, 2019.

Hot Articles from Recent Issues (For CSE Members only)

As a CSE member benefit, once Science Editor articles are moved to an issue, they are available only to CSE Members for one year.

One of the unique sessions at CSE is the recurring “At My Desk After CSE, Now What?” where early career professionals are given the opportunity to share their success stories from the previous year’s meeting. “Now What?” is an important question and these case studies provide excellent answers.

The Meeting Reports from the last two “At My Desk” sessions do a great job of summarizing these discussions, while also providing helpful information in their own right:

From CSE 2018: Use Cases from CSE 2017
From CSE 2017: Use Cases from CSE 2016

Not a CSE member? Additional membership info along with instructions for becoming a member of the Council of Science Editors can be found here.

From the Archives

Science Editor and the CSE Annual Meeting have a long, intertwined history. In 1978, when CSE was the Council of Biology Editors, Science Editor‘s progenitor, CBE Views, devoted most of its first issue to a guide to the upcoming annual meeting in Toronto. When Science Editor gained its current title in 2000, the first issue included a number of meeting reports from the previous year’s annual meeting. It’s interesting to read through these reports from 20 years ago covering topics such as “The Latest Cooperative Publishing Efforts” and “Ethical Considerations for Journal Advertising” to see what has changed in the intervening decades (and what hasn’t).

Resource of the Month

Being an editor and working at a scientific publication requires being ever knowledgeable of a rapidly changing scientific and publishing landscape, so each month I highlight a resource that will hopefully make this at least a little bit easier.

In keeping with this month’s theme, be sure to check out the CSE Short Courses offered at the annual meeting when registering. In addition to the short courses for Journal Editors and Manuscript Editors, this year brings a new Advanced Course on Publication Management, providing a way for those who have already taken the Short Course on Publication Management to take their career to the next level.

Can’t attend the short courses at the annual meeting and happen to live near Durham, NC? Then I encourage you to sign up for the CSE Short Course on the Road on Publication Management.

A Thought for the Road

I’ll end this month’s newsletter about the annual meeting with an appreciation for this year’s theme: Inclusion, Identity, Technology & Beyond. It’s hard to overstate the cultural transformations of the last two decades brought about, at least partly, by technological advances that are amplifying the voices of historically marginalized groups. As reactionaries push back, at times it can seem bleak, but when organizations like CSE stand strong and affirm their commitment “to diversity and inclusivity” (as stated in the new Code of Conduct) and use platforms such as an annual meeting to promote these themes, it gives me hope for the future.

Feedback and suggestions are always welcome at scienceeditor@councilscienceeditors.org.

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