GW Journal of Ethics in Publishing: Meet the Student Committees

The Journal of Ethics in Publishing is excited to introduce the four student-led committees working to help launch the journal. Each of these four committees deal with different aspects of the journal: Editorial, Marketing, E-Publishing, and Strategy and Sustainability. We recently asked the four committee leads to describe what their committees are charged with, what they’ve accomplished thus far, and what role they will play as the journal continues to evolve and work towards publication.

Giuliana Macaluso

Editorial Committee

Lead: Giuliana Macaluso

Editorial Committee members: Christine Benson, Aimar Galarza, Kaitlyn Longstaff, Mariko Hewer, Olivia Haase, Ashley Elizalde

Editorial Board Liaison: Josephine Sciortino

The Editorial Committee of the Journal of Ethics in Publishing has been charged with stewarding the fair, unbiased double-masked peer review of journal submissions; identifying opportunities to recognize referee contributions; and developing guidelines to maintain journal integrity.

The committee has been hard at work establishing processes to optimize its operations. With the ethical imperative of the journal ever on our minds, the committee’s regular meetings involve discussion around best practices for peer review. We’ve also engaged in research and leveraged professional networks to identify peer reviewers whose expertise and values align with the mission of the journal. In preparation for the first issue of the journal, our inaugural articles have been identified and sent to peer reviewers to solicit feedback—and we’ve already received a reviewer report!

I look forward to seeing the Editorial Committee’s role in the journal continue to solidify and evolve as we move toward the journal’s launch—and over the coming years. This is an integral and enthusiastic committee that affords members experience that will be useful in any publishing profession. And we’re always looking for new members! If you’re interested in learning more about the editorial side of journal publishing, I highly encourage you to join!

Emily Hatcher

Marketing Committee

Lead: Emily Hatcher

Marketing committee members: Sarah Godlin, Corrine Gosling, Abby Norton, Caitlin Monday, Haley Mullins, Nicole McConnell, and Donna Prideaux.

The Journal of Ethics in Publishing’s first marketing committee has been tasked with strategizing, designing, and implementing marketing strategies for the journal. Throughout the past couple of months, the committee has met weekly to brainstorm ideas, discuss content strategy, and begin to establish the journal’s identity as a whole. So far, we’ve created a customer persona, social media strategies, and a content calendar, and we’re continuing to work on setting up social media accounts and starting a weekly email newsletter.

This group is extremely passionate and energetic and I’m so excited to see how the committee will continue to celebrate and amplify the journal.

Jeremy Ottley

E-Publishing Committee

Lead: Jeremy Ottley

E-Publishing committee members: Taryn Boss, Melody Johnson, Lismarie Cuevas, Tyana Anglin, Stephanie Luna

The E-Publishing Committee for the GW Journal of Ethics in Publishing has been charged to develop and maintain the online journal presence, ensuring discoverability, appropriate indexing, and successful implementation of industry standards. So far, we’ve been developing a taxonomy for our content to support an indexing strategy, a set of author guidelines to better prepare manuscripts for the platform, as well as a Corrections and Errata policy. Lately, we’ve begun to discuss how to present special collections and how to enhance the user experience.

I look forward to continuing to build a strong digital foundation for George Washington University’s newest born-digital publication.

Ashley Warren

Strategy and Sustainability Committee

Lead: Ashley Warren

Strategy and Sustainability committee members: Ambriah Underwood, Julie McClenahan, Elizabeth Von Mann, Madison Neuner, Maeve Hayden, and Sydnie Koetje-Simin

Board Liaison: Lois Jones 

The GW Journal of Ethics in Publishing’s Strategy and Sustainability Committee has been charged with being the Journal’s moral compass, guiding it through industry disruption while establishing and protecting a legacy of excellence and a tradition of quality. We strive to ensure the Journal serves its readers and the publishing industry for many years to come, while never compromising its values or integrity. 

Currently, the Strategy and Sustainability team is working to develop the initial processes that will provide the Journal with critical assets for the future.  In sub-committees,  members are developing student volunteer recruitment and retainment methods; evaluating the competition and searching for potential hurdles; considering long-term peer reviewer relationships; creating data matrices; and actively working to find grants and other funding opportunities.

Our committee looks forward to working together, and with future student volunteers, to help the Journal of Ethics in Publishing find perennial success.

The four committee leads work closely with our Editorial Board Student Representative, Gabrielle Bethancourt-Hughes, to help drive initiatives and establish a solid foundation for the journal.

While there have been many accomplishments, there is still so much work to be done! If any of the above committees interest you, we will be accepting new members in the fall; we will send out a request for volunteers when the time comes. This is a great opportunity to gain real-world experience, work more closely with your peers, and help to publish important content.

Congratulate Jeremy Ottley, CPS Distinguished Scholar Award recipient

Remarks from CPS Commencement, May 15, 2021

The CPS Graduate Distinguished Scholar Award is awarded to a graduating student who demonstrates academic excellence while exemplifying the core competencies of the College, which are:

  • Develop ways to engage with individuals with diverse backgrounds and perspectives and promote an inclusive environment for the betterment of their profession.
  • Foster collaboration in professional situations by knowing how to incorporate other’s views, motivations, interests, and strengths in the pursuit of solutions.
  • Lead by creating innovative practices and inspiring others to join them in delivering better results.
  • Practice professional ethics by advocating for and making choices that uphold the principles and values of their fields.
  • Think strategically in researching and analyzing data and contexts to set goals, solve problems, and formulate and implement shared visions.
  • Communicate complex information and ideas to, and solicit and incorporate feedback from, a variety of audiences.

I’m extremely proud to announce the CPS Distinguished Scholar award recipient: Master of Professional Studies in Publishing student, Jeremy Ottley.

Jeremy Ottley, CPS Distinguished Scholar Award Recipient
Jeremy Ottley, MPS in Publishing, CPS Distinguished Scholar Award Recipient

Students in the Publishing program, and throughout the master’s and certificate programs of College of Professional Studies are a talented group. Jeremy Ottley is an exemplary student; his contributions have benefited his peers as well as our faculty.

In particular, let me highlight his Ethics in Publishing Capstone project. The Ethics in Publishing course, over the course of only eight weeks, asks students to conduct either an Applied Ethics Project (that “makes the world better”) or a Case Study/research project.

Jeremy, in these short eight weeks, researched a paper investigating the remarkable lack of university presses in Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU’s). His case study began with a question: why are there no university presses at HBCUs? This emerged from his career search, as he was interested in potentially working at a HBCU Press. But there are none.

During the course of his research, Jeremy interviewed several prominent publishing executives, professors of civil rights history; literary activists; and scholars, while also conducting literature and archives research.

To say the project was accomplished is an understatement. His project emerged as a fully-formed paper ready for publication in a scholarly journal.

Though he had a self-confessed trepidation of public speaking, he nevertheless contributed to class WebEx meetings and activities with insights, on topics from diversity in publishing to publishing technologies, to production. His posts to students on discussion boards have been encouraging and insightful.

In his professional capacity, Jeremy is a digital production specialist at Project Muse, Johns Hopkins University Press. His expertise in technology and production aspects of publishing, which are often inscrutable to many students but provide excellent career prospects, have been beneficial to a wide range of students. He has a bright career ahead in publishing.

Please join me in congratulating this year’s recipient of the CPS Distinguished Scholar Award, Jeremy Ottley.

John W. Warren
Director and Associate Professor, MPS in Publishing

Gabrielle Bethancourt Appointed to GW Journal of Ethics in Publishing Editorial Board

The GW Journal of Ethics in Publishing proudly announces Gabrielle Bethancourt to the Editorial Board as the student representative to the board’s founding membership. 

Gabrielle Bethancourt - photo
Gabrielle Bethancourt

Gabrielle is a second-year student in the MPS in Publishing program at GW. She holds a Certificate in Editing from the University of Chicago, and taught high school English for five years before assuming her current role as a technical writer/editor. Gabrielle obtained her BA in English from Tulane University and served as an Editor for the Tulane Literary Review. She currently resides in New Orleans with her husband and one-year-old daughter.

“It is an honor to be selected as the student representative on the editorial board,” says Bethancourt. “My time in GW’s MPS in Publishing program has already supplied me with a wealth of knowledge and experience in the publishing world, but this is a unique opportunity to advance industry standards in ethics. It is also a great privilege to work with such accomplished professionals in the field. I look forward to serving my student community as a representative and the publishing community at large with this new journal.”

Gabrielle joins board members Josephine E. Sciortino, Lois Jones and Julie Vo, who were announced earlier this month as inaugural members of the editorial board by Editor-in-Chief Randy Townsend.

“To successfully launch this journal, strong editorial leadership is critical, and it’s imperative to have student representation on the editorial board, working alongside publishing experts,” says John W. Warren, Director and Associate Professor of the MPS in Publishing program, College of Professional Studies. “Gabrielle’s contributions were important, as well as those of her peers, to the launching of this journal, and her accomplishments in the program make her a natural fit for joining the board. My vision for the journal has always been to provide opportunities for our students to learn the ends and outs of journal management, while contributing to the research and literature of ethics in publishing. Student support and enthusiasm for the journal has been remarkable.”

In addition to Gabrielle’s editorship, the journal is also launching student-run committees to target 4 key objectives.

  • Editorial, led by Giuliana Macaluso, will steward the fair, unbiased double-masked peer review of journal submissions, identify opportunities to recognize referee contributions, and develop guidelines to maintain journal integrity.
  • ePublishing, led by Jeremy Ottley, will develop and maintain the online journal presence, ensuring discoverability, appropriate indexing, and successful implementation of industry standards.
  • Marketing & Promotion, led by Emily Hatcher, will cultivate a strategy to raise visibility of the published content, helping further ethical discussions presented by authors, and ensuring the journal brand consistently reflects values of integrity, equity, transparency, and scholarship.
  • Strategy & Sustainability, led by Ashley Warren, will be the moral compass guiding the journal through industry disruption while establishing and protecting a legacy of excellence and a tradition of quality.

“With Gabrielle joining the editorial team and the formation of these four committees, we are honoring our commitment to offer real-world experience and leadership opportunities to the publishing students, strengthening and adapting skills to the development of the journal,” says Townsend. “These committees will help establish the journal’s personality and characteristics. I am inspired by the enthusiasm surrounding the journal and looking forward to publishing great content.” 

The Journal of Ethics in Publishing, managed by students in the GW Publishing program, welcomes articles, case studies, and conference presentations from scholars, students, and publishing professionals on topics including, but not limited to, diversity and inclusion, accessibility, peer review, open access, sustainability, publishing metrics, equity, and other aspects and issues of ethics in publishing. If you are interested in submitting to the journal, please see the Call for Papers for more information.