The Board of Publication advances the publication mission of the Division. We support the management of the Journal of Chemical Education via a publication agreement with the American Chemical Society and the operations, finances, and sustainability of the Chemical Education Xchange. These two publications provide national and international reach for chemistry education research and practice.
The Fall 2024 meeting was held in-person with virtual access. Standing reports were given by, JCE EIC (Tom Holme), and ChemEd X EIC (Jon Holmes). Meeting highlights include:
- The Board thanked Maria Oliver-Hoyo for her service on the Board and her leadership as Board Chair. 2024 is Maria’s last year on the Board of Publications.
- The Board Associates program is back up and running after COVID. To get us back on schedule of having Associates attend meetings over the academic year (first Fall and then Spring) we asked the current associates to attend one additional meeting (Spring 2025). At the Spring 2025 meeting we will choose the Board Associates for the next year (Fall 2025 and Spring 2026).
- Debbie Herrington reported on the DivCHED symposium at the BCCE at the University of Kentucky. Though attendance at the symposium was moderate, there were several good questions from those in attendance and the Board would support participation in similar symposia in the future.
- The updated version of the Operations Manual was approved.
- Jon Holmes presented to the Board the specifics of the restructuring of ChemEd X and the progress of the Blue Spart website update.
- The Board discussed and approved providing $50K to support partnering with Blue Spark to oversee the migration and update of the DivCHED website.
- The Board plans to continue discussions about recurring allocations to the DivCHED Special Projects fund as well as the processes for proposed projects, accountability and reporting, and regular review of the expenditure.
- The Board reviewed the ACS Publications performance review of EiC Tom Holme and unanimously approved the appointment of Tom to a second 5-year term as EiC of the Journal.
- The Board approved the 2025 budget via email in October 2024.
- Small additional increments ($3333 each year) for the ChemEdX editor for 2024 and 2025 were approved to facilitate a smooth transition of editors for the High School Community.
- The Board is welcoming two new members, Marcy Towns and Maureen Scharberg, January 2025 and thanks Maria Oliver-Hoyo and Michael Morgan for their service as their terms come to an end.
This coming year we will be looking to identify a new Treasurer and a vice-chair for the BoP to ensure a smooth leadership transition. We will also be putting together a search committee to search for a new EiC for ChemEd X and John Holmes has indicated he would like to retire at the end of 2025.