Departures and Arrivals

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST FROM THE EDITOR Departures and Arrivals Tom Boellstorff Editor-in-Chief AN EXTRAORDINARY JOURNEY O n May 29, 2007, I submitted a memo titled “Statement Regarding Potential Editorship of American Anthropolo- gist” to what was then known as the Committee on Scientific Communication (now the Anthropological Communication Committee) and the American Anthropological Association Executive Board. In that letter I expressed my interest in becoming editor-in-chief for one year (to complete the term of the previous editor), provided I could either put my name forward for the full four-year term that would follow or stop after 12 months. Admitting that at that point “I have not yet edited a journal,” I nonetheless expressed my enthusiasm for the opportunity and hoped that my scholarly track record would inspire sufficient confidence to support my candidacy for the one-year position. What a difference five years makes! Looking back on that letter and my experiences editing this journal, I am struck by the unexpected paths of life, the importance of taking best advantage of serendipitous opportunities. The chance to edit AA has been one of the most rewarding and transformative aspects of my career. I am proud of my—to be honest— Herculean efforts over the past half-decade. I have certainly come to appreciate that alongside intellectual vision, my strong organizational skills, facility with the written word, and near-obsessive ability to focus on a task have helped me leave AA in a much stronger position than when I began this journey. AA has experienced a 36 percent increase in its five- year impact factor, a 61 percent increase in its immediacy index (how quickly articles are cited), and a 50.9 percent increase in article influence (how often articles are cited). By 2011, AA became the number one most-downloaded journal of the 490 journals Wiley-Blackwell publishes in the social sciences and humanities. However, from the time I wrote that first letter of intent in May 2007, it has become clear to me that the editorship of any journal, and particularly a large, complicated journal like AA, is a deeply collaborative endeavor. From the begin- ning, Sally Merry and Alan Goodman provided unwavering support and counsel. Fran Mascia-Lees played a critical role as confidante and mentor, and the former editorial board was crucial in suggesting good candidates for my editorial board. Every member of my board has been there for me over the years. My associate editors—Agust´in Fuentes, Barbara Rose Johnston, Michael Silverstein, Carla Sinopoli, and Bar- bara Yngvesson—have all been comrades-in-arms through thick and thin. My review editors have been stellar mod- els of creativity, responsibility, and excellence—John M. Bishop, Naomi H. Bishop, Melissa Checker, Karl Heider, Rosemary Joyce, Lilith Mahmood, Marc Moskowitz, Justin Richland, Sydel Silverman, David Vine, and Alaka Wali. AAA and Wiley-Blackwell staff have been beyond exemplary in their support—above all, Oona Schmid, a true visionary and trooper, always there with a creative solution—and also Bill Davis, Emilia Guevara, Elaine Lynch, Suzanne Mattingly, Lynne McCumber, Lisa S. Myers, John Siever, Jon Speil- burg, and Terri Teleen. Hilary Heindl was crucial to getting our online submissions system operational. The presidents of the AAA during my editorial tenure (Virginia Dominguez, Alan Goodman, Setha Low, and Leith P. Mullings) have been vital supporters of my work. Mayumi Shimose Poe was my managing editor during my entire editorial tenure. Issue after issue, she made AA happen: from author agreements to layout, from copy edit- ing and proofs to the image gracing each cover, Mayumi’s incredible editorial and creative skills made the journal’s publication possible. Dac Nelson has also been indispensible to the copyediting work “behind the scenes” that makes the journal possible. Closer to home, every member of my department has supported the work of my editorship and the demands it has placed on my time. In this regard, particular thanks is due to my husband, Bill Maurer, whom I am lucky to have as a colleague in my own department. Department and school staff, particularly Keith Drover, Norma Miranda, and Heather Wuebker, have helped me in innumerable ways. Karen Reiser handled the complicated finances of the journal—an extraordinary service—and at many a meeting in her office helped me understand budgets and reimburse- ments. The dean of the School of Social Sciences at Irvine during my editorship, Barbara Dosher, provided me with extraordinary support in terms of resources and a teach- ing reduction of two courses a year for each year of my c 2012 by the American Anthropological AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST, Vol. 114, No. 4, pp. 563–566, ISSN 0002-7294, online ISSN 1548-1433. Association. All rights reserved. DOI: 10.1111/j.1548-1433.2012.01489.x