President's Column
Dan P. McAdams
Northwestern University
If the late-night dancing at the gala dinner was any indication, Sacramento (June 8-10, 2017) was our biggest and best ARP conference ever. I left before midnight, but things were still going strong at that point – and maybe they got stronger, since parties often pick up once I leave the scene. For me, it was like a big and really fun wedding reception. The bonds of friendship and collegiality seem quite strong in our society, almost as if we were all family.
Oh, and there were some excellent talks and symposia - can't forget that! Many, many, actually. And first-rate posters, too! I promised that I would not brag about the fact that two of the top poster prizes went to graduate students at Northwestern University. So, I won't mention that. I do not have at my fingertips the quantitative data regarding meeting attendance, increases in ARP membership, and the improving financial position that the Society finds itself in at the end of the 2017 conference. I will leave all that to other reports in this newsletter. But the emerging narrative is that Sacramento was a peak experience for those many who attended, and for the field of personality psychology more generally.
In case you were unable to attend, or if you missed the business lunch meeting on Friday of the conference, let me again thank those many ARP members who have helped to launch two new endowment programs for ARP Awards. First, we all owe a debt of gratitude to Oliver John and Rick Robins, who together contributed $15,000 to jump-start our endowment for the new Early Career Award. Second, let me thank all of you who have thus far responded positively to the pledge challenge regarding the Tanaka Dissertation Award. A donor has pledged to match all contributions to the Tanaka endowment until we reach an initial total of $15,000. We collected pledge cards at the conference, as many of you recall, and we will soon provide an online option for making contributions to this fund. We have also established an ARP Finance Committee to oversee both the Early Career and Tanaka endowments and approve an investment strategy.
Another issue we discussed at the Friday business meeting was the relationship between ARP and Elsevier Publishing. Elsevier publishes the Journal of Research in Personality (JRP), which has been an official journal for ARP. In the past, the Society has provided hard-copy and/or electronic access to JRP for ARP members, as part of the membership and dues arrangement. As our Society has grown, however, the financial deal struck years ago between ARP and Elsevier has resulted in our losing money of late. Effectively, the bigger we get, the more money we lose. The problem has been on the radar for a few years now, but efforts to renegotiate the financial terms with Elsevier have not born fruit. ARP members have raised other concerns about Elsevier, as well.
In response to growing discontent, ARP Past-President Dan Ozer, who is also the Chair of our Publications Committee, surveyed ARP members about Elsevier and JRP in the late winter and spring of 2017. Based on the widespread sentiment expressed in the membership survey as well as discontent expressed by the editorial board of JRP and the ARP Board itself, the ARP Board decided to sever our relationship with Elsevier. The Board also decided to consider other options regarding alternative journals or publication strategies, including the possibility of pursuing open-access options.
What does this mean for you? First, it means that ARP no longer has a financial relationship with Elsevier. Second, it means that ARP no longer provides formal input to Elsevier regarding editorial policies, the composition of the JRP editorial board, and the like. Elsevier will continue to publish JRP, but without a formal tie to ARP. Individual members of ARP are, of course, free to continue submitting articles to JRP, reviewing for the journal, serving on its editorial board, and providing input to Elsevier regarding policies of the journal.
Third, the formal separation of ARP and JRP/Elsevier may open up new publication options. For example, one option the ARP Board is considering would be our launching a new, open-access journal, perhaps published through the University of California Press. Should we do that, members of the former editorial board for JRP, headed by Rich Lucas, would likely guide the Society through the transition and assume editorial responsibility for the new journal. At the moment as I write this, however, we do not have full closure on a specific publication plan.
With the rise of open-access journals and the general move toward open science, we may be witnessing the emergence of a brave new world in the dissemination of scientific information. Under the new leadership (beginning in 2018) of Brent Roberts as ARP President (succeeding me) and Brent Donnellan as Executive Officer (succeeding Rebecca Shiner), our Society will continue to explore various opportunities regarding publications. Our eyes will continue to be focused on serving our membership well and enhancing the quality and impact of personality science worldwide.
Wishing you all the best!