PHYS THER
Vol. 86, No. 1, January 2006, p. 6
Extraordinary People
Jan Reynolds, Managing Editor
janreynolds{at}apta.org
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Introduction
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In the course of every enterprise, in business or in life, extraordinary people step up and into the breach that has been created by an illness or tragedy. They not only keep the enterprise going, but they manage to move it forward, even though their position is temporary (and often unsung).
In 2005, Alan M Jette, PT, PhD, FAPTA, agreed to serve as acting editor in chief during the medical leave of the late Jules Rothstein, PT, PhD, FAPTA. Recognizing that electronic publishing is accelerating the expectations of all participants in scholarly publication and that the Journal was at a critical juncture, Alan focused on the top priorities: providing leadership to the Editorial Board and helping the Journal streamline its peer-review process, increase the number of manuscripts published per issue, and begin development of a new Web site that will meet the new needs of both readers and authors.
Under Alans leadership, the Journals manuscript review criteria were refined, forms were simplified, and manuscript decisions were made more quickly (mean=79.5 days in 2005 so far, compared with 99.1 in 2004 and 101 in 2003). Although we already have begun to see the fruits of these efforts, it takes time for improvements to percolate, and the real impact wont be felt until after Alan has passed the baton to a new editor in chief (whose appointment is expected within the month). For readers, the immediate result of Alans work is that the Journal published 40% more articles in 2005 than in 2004, and, in the first half of 2006, readers will see at least 10 articles in every issue.
The Editorial Board and staff are grateful to Alan Jette for the groundwork that he laid and the incisive questions that he asked, and we wish him the best as he concentrates on the research institute that he directs. We look forward to his continued input as he helps the Journal transition to a new editor in chiefand a new erain the coming months.
Copyright © 2006 by the American Physical Therapy Association.