Community and Urban Sociology

Individual and team applications are invited for the position of editor of City & Community, the journal of the American Sociological Association’s Community and Urban Sociology Section (CUSS). The official term for the new editor (or co-editors) will begin in January 2021. The editorial transition will begin in late 2020 with the first issue of the new editorial team being the March 2021 issue. The editor’s term is for a minimum of three years, until December 2023, with a possible reappointment of up to an additional two years.

City & Community brings together major work and research in urban and community sociology. It is published four times per year.

Editor’s Role: City & Community receives approximately 200 submissions per year. The current journal impact factor is 1.055. The editor is expected to secure timely and appropriate reviews and make the final decision on manuscripts, informing both the author(s) and reviewers of the final disposition. The editor is also responsible for maintaining the high standards of ASA journals, ensuring that issues are filled within the approved annual page allocation, and preventing a long backlog of articles for either review or publication. The editor must show openness to communicating with scholars about diverse ideas and eagerness to continue building the journal’s reputation.

Candidates must be members of both the ASA and the Community and Urban Sociology Section, and hold a tenured position or equivalent in an academic or a non-academic setting. Applications from members of underrepresented groups are encouraged.

In accordance with ASA’s mission to publish high quality scholarship, the following criteria are considered in selecting editors:

• established record of scholarship,
• evidence of understanding the mission of the journal and its operation, indicated by experience with the journal across any of a wide variety of activities (submission, reviewing, editorial board experience),
• assessment of the present state of the journal, its strengths and challenges, and a vision for the journal’s future,
• openness to different methods, theories, and approaches to sociology,
• record of responsible service to scholarly publishing, and
• evidence of organizational skill and intellectual leadership.

The time demands associated with these responsibilities vary, but in general, require one full day per week. The actual costs associated with editing the journal are covered by the publisher, a dedicated portion of section dues, and the editor’s university. Applicants will provide a letter from the administration of their institution assuring a suitable level of financial and in-kind support for the editor, a managing editor (usually a graduate student), and the editorial office.

Selection Process: To facilitate a fair and inclusive process, the CUSS Publications Committee will consider applications in two phases. We first seek succinct Letters of Interest from all candidates, addressing the items below. We will then invite finalists to discuss with the CUSS Publications Committee the trajectory of the journal as well as candidates’ vision and editorial approach. Finalists will then be asked to submit a full application that will be the basis for the decision by CUSS Council and ASA Publications Committee.

Letters of Interest should address the following in up to 2 pages:

• Vision Statement: Set forth your goals and plans for the content of the journal. This may include an assessment of the current strengths, weaknesses, or gaps that you plan to address and how you will carry out your plan.
• Editor/Co-Editor or Deputy Editor(s) Background Information: The name, affiliation, and other important information about the potential editor and, if applicable, co-editors and/or deputy editor(s) is required. Describe the qualifications and experience of each person that supports their inclusion. Please do not include names of individuals that you would like/plan to include on the larger editorial board. Contacting potential editorial board members can be a time-consuming task that should be done only after an editor is selected.
• Institutional Support: It is important for candidates to examine the feasibility of serving as editor in light of the resources provided by the publisher, the section, and the home university.
• CVs for Editors/Co-Editors should accompany the Letter of Interest.

Letters of Interest are due April 15, 2020. CUSS Publications Committee will interview editorial candidates April 27-30, 2020.

Full Applications, due May 30, will address the above in greater detail, speak to the criteria provided by ASA (also above), and, regarding institutional support, will also include a preliminary letter of support from a dean or other appropriate institutional official. (Specific negotiations will of course take place after a new editor is selected. This letter must be included for the application to be considered.)

CUSS Publications Committee will submit a ranked list of candidates to the CUSS Council by June 15, 2020.  The CUSS Council will vote and submit their editor selection back to the CUSS Publications Committee. The recommendation is then forwarded to ASA’s Publications Committee by July 15, 2020. ASA’s Publications Committee will review the selection and forward the recommendation to ASA Council.

For questions and further information about the application process, please contact:  Krista Paulsen, Boise State University, kristapaulsen@boisestate.edu or Japonica Brown-Saracino, Boston University, japonica@bu.edu.

Letters of Interest may be emailed as PDFs to Krista Paulsen, Chair CUSS Publications Committee, kristapaulsen@boisestate.edu.