Comments from the retiring editor-in-chief

EXPERIMENTAL

MYCOLOGY

7,

Xiii-XV

Comments

(1983)

from

EXPERIMENTAL MYCOLOGY, 1974-

the Retiring 1982

A JOURNAL

,Suly 1974: Origin of an idea. More than eight years ago, after the final session of the 2nd International Fungal Spore Symposium at Brigham Young University on July 19, 1974, Salomon Bartnicki-Garcia and I were exploring an important question: Had it not become increasingly obvious during our professional careers in mycology that there was a need to launch a new journal designed specifically to consolidate the results of experimental research with the fungi?results which for years had been scattered about in a motley collection of different journals. After a lengthy discussion, we concluded that there was such a need, a compelling one. By way of arguments short on logic but long on flattery, I was maneuvered into agreeing to seek out a publisher. November 1974: Sotlnding out reactions from experimental mycologists. By November of 1974, I had approached Academic Press with a proposal to launch a new journal, one with a particular purpose and patronage in mind, and provided reasons for believing that there was a need for such a journal, suggestions for delimiting the kind of subject matter that might be suitable for it, the possible structure of an editorial group, and of course, a name for the new journal: Experimentat Mycology. March 197.5: Academic Press agrees to support the launching of Experimental Mycology. By March 1975, tentative agreement bad been reached; the following month, I would be journeying to New York City to meet the staff who would work with me to launch the journal. Their cordial reception made my initiation into the publishing business not only painless but enjoyable. Final agreement for publication of the journal was reached some days later. Having made the commitment to serve as Editor-in-Chief

Editor-in-Chief WHOSE

TIME

HAD

COME

of Experimental MycoEogy, my first function would be to put together an editorial Board. April 1975: The first work session; genesis of a %oard of Senior Editors. On April 26, Salomon Bartnicki-Garcia was on his way to the ASM meetings in New York City and planned to stop en route to visit with Charles Bracker at Purdue University. I drove from East Lansing to Lafayette and met them at the home of James Eovett where the four of us lai groundwork for launching the new journal. This work session also set the stage for creation of the first critical cog-a triumvirate of the foregoing charter members who would become the Senior Editors-in the editorial machinery of Experimental Mycology. May-December 1975: P;,ep~rati~~~ foi final launching of ExperimePztaE Mycology. The quality and very nature of our forthcoming journal would obviously depend upon the kind of papers that were passed on by its editors. Many of our colleagues &ad sent in the names ofpotential candidates for our Editorial Board and our panel of Referees. The size of this expanding pool of experts was becoming quite substantial. It was, of course, gratifying to realize that there were so many highly quailed people available, but it was also fr~st~ati~~ to know that, in the end, only a small tion of them could be included on the Editorial Board. Eventually, our first group of Associate Editors was put together: Paul Allen, Stuart Brody, John Bu’Lock, Manfred Girbardt, Harlyn Halvorson, Brent Heath, David Jennings, Walter Shropshire, Tony Trinci, Jim Van Etten, oward Whisler, and Barbara Wright accepted invitations to participate. Together with the

XIII Copyright @ 1983 by Academjc Press, Inc. AU rights of reproduction in any form reseived.

XlV

COMMENTS

FROM

THE

RETIRING

three Senior Editors and a long list of good people who agreed to heip us review manuscripts, we were ready for our task: the launching of Experimental Mycology. Their role in our undertaking would be a responsible and critical one. Their collective expertise spanned a fairly large portion of the experimental work being done with fungi; if only the subject matter in the papers we would receive could distribute itself over our breadth of talents! With spirits buoyed by the quality of our Editorial Board, the unsolicited supportive comments I had received from several dozens of other colleagues, and promises of manuscripts to come, I wrote to the members of the Editorial Board early in 1976: “THE MANUSCRIPTS ARE COMING! ‘By perseverance and fortitude, we have the prospect of a glorious issue’ ” (Thomas Paine, ca. 1776). November 1982: Seven years later; accomplishments and expectations. If the

data on manuscript submissions for the first live years are representative, a good future for Experimental Mycology is assured. In conclusion, I am happy to announce

Comments

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

that, starting with this issue of ExperimenJames Lovett will take over in my place; I feel certain that the journal will prosper under his conscientious direction. I wish him well and hope that he will enjoy the mixed blessings that editing will bring as Experimental Mycology mushrooms into maturity! As I sign off, I also want to express my deep thanks to so many for the pleasure I have had the past seven years working with them to ensure the success of our new journal; to Academic Press, of course, for accepting the risk and the challenge of supporting the endeavor; to all the Editors, including those who joined our ranks in more recent years-Jim Aist, Jerry Aronson, Judy Domer, Bob Metzenberg, Ken Poff, and Cardy Raper; to all our referees, past and present, who have done so much to help put us on the map; and-perhaps above all-to the authors whose contributions have shaped the past and future of tal Mycology,

Experimental

Mycology. EDWARD

C.

CANTINO

from the New Editor-in-Chief

As the new Editor-in-Chief of Experimental Mycology I would like to briefly state my views about and objectives for the journal in the next few years. First and foremost, however, I want to acknowledge the very important contributions of the retiring Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Edward C. Cantino. Though a small group of mycologists discussed the need for a new publication devoted to experimental research with fungi and provided support and advice, it was Dr. Cantino who took on the arduous job of launching the new journal, first published in March of 1977. It was he who negotiated for its publication by Academic Press, organized the Editorial Board, arranged procedures for processing and reviewing manuscripts, and handled all the

many details involved in starting up a new independent publication. He obviously did this with dedication and enthusiasm while initially doing a balancing act to generate an adequate flow of manuscript submissions and at the same time set high standards for the quality of the papers published. He succeeded admirably and I believe he has made an extremely important contribution to the world community of “experimental mycologists.” Thanks are also due for the important and continuing contributions of the original Senior Editors, Dr. Salomon Bartnicki-Garcia and Dr. Charles E. Bracker, as sources of advice to Dr. Cantino and more recently to me on journal procedures and standards. We are of course also very much indebted to Academic Press