Dear SSP Members,
Where has the year gone? Or, as one of SSP’s founding members might ask, where have 40 years gone? In two weeks, we will be in Chicago for SSP’s 40th Annual Meeting. With the theme “Scholarly Publishing at the Crossroads: What’s Working, What’s Holding Us Back, Where Do We Go From Here?” we’ll be exploring opportunities for scholarly publishing and the communities we serve to examine what we’ve done and imagine a future full of possibilities. We will also be marking SSP’s 40th Anniversary with a celebration on Wednesday, May 30, at Navy Pier. I hope to see you there!
Leading up to the annual meeting, SSP has been a flurry of activity. Not only have multiple committees and task forces been hard at work on the Chicago event, but we’ve also had two webinars and held regional events in Berlin, the UK, Philadelphia and Durham this spring, as well as, a regional event in Boston just this week.
We recently concluded our 2018 election and welcome new Board Members Elizabeth Lorbeer, Alison Mudditt and Laura Ricci as well as President-Elect Angela Cochran. And after receiving more than 90 applications, we’ve awarded 12 students and early-career professionals Fellowships for 2018. I look forward to meeting the Fellows in Chicago and watching the development of these future leaders in the years to come!
My overall goal as SSP president was to help ensure a resilient, viable organization that would enable members to leverage SSP to learn about every aspect of scholarly publishing from evolving technologies to shifting business models; to engage with the SSP community to have a forum to cultivate, exchange, and challenge ideas; and to belong to an organization that respects and values diversity and individual contributions. Looking back on the past 11 months, I think we’ve made some very good progress, and our strategic plan and strong leadership will help ensure continued development in these areas.
As my year as SSP president comes to an end, I want to say thank you to all of the fantastic Board, committee, task force and Kitchen volunteers. I’ve seen the hard work and commitment from these individuals throughout the year and remain inspired by and grateful for their passion for our organization. I also want to thank Melanie Dolechek, our executive director, whose thoughtful leadership and dedication are a cornerstone of SSP. Finally, I want to thank all of you, our members, for sharing your thoughts and feedback throughout the year, for participating in the organization, and for making scholarly publishing a fantastic community in which to belong.
I hope to see you in Chicago!
Jennifer Pesanelli, FASEB
SSP President, 2017-18
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