The Journal of Research in Character Education is now completing its third volume. That is 3 years of growth and success. We are getting new subscriptions and more and more submissions. The future looks bright for the journal.
This journal was the brainchild of Andy Milson, then at Baylor University and now at the University of North Texas. Andy recognized that there was no dedicated outlet for scholarship in the field of character education and he was frequently getting unfriendly responses from other journals for his work in character education. He approached the Character Education Partnership, the national character education organization, about working with him to develop a scholarly journal focused on character education. I was then a member of CEP’s Board of Directors and his inquiry was passed to me.
I was intrigued by the concept but I did not know Andy, so I did some sleuthing and all I could turn up was highly laudatory. Andy was well respected by his colleagues and his scholarship was impressive. So I called him and he was as bright and grounded and competent as I could hope. He already had a publisher involved and had thought through the logistics of launching such an endeavor. More important to me, he was willing to take the lead as editor, but wanted me to serve as co-editor with him. Together we negotiated a relationship with CEP, conceptualized the journal, invited an editorial board, created journal policy and procedures, and launched the journal.
Andy is a joy to work with. He is meticulous, thoughtful, professional, organized, intelligent, responsible, and task-oriented. He was clearly the guiding light and major worker behind this journal.
But Andy has been juggling a lot. During the past 3 years he has earned tenure at Baylor, moved to University of North Texas, raised a family, and balanced two professional interests: (1) character education and (2) global information systems and social studies education. He has now decided that the latter is his greater love and where he wants to invest his energy. He recognized that this split personality professional career is not something he wants to continue any longer.
So this issue is Andy Milson’s swan song as co-editor. He is stepping down. But he is doing so knowing that he conceptualized and created a journal that is in good health and should continue to flourish. Not many of us can make that claim. I personally will miss working with him and now consider him much more than a colleague. He has become a kindred spirit; a true friend. Those of you who know him will understand why I value him. For those of you who don’t know him, it is your loss, and one I hope you get the opportunity to correct.
The good news is that my friend and colleague Stephen Sherblom is taking over as coeditor. Steve is an assistant professor of educational psychology at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and a member of our new Center for Character and Citizenship. When Steve as earning his EdD under Carol Gilligan at Harvard University, he served on the editorial board of the Harvard Educational Review. He is obviously well qualified for this role. In his short time in this role he has already created new editorial systems and established our new email address: jrce@umsl.edu. Having served as a frequent reviewer for and having published in the JRCE, he was quite familiar with the journal already. And we can now officially house the journal in the Center for Character and Citizenship, which I co-direct.
As the Milson-Berkowitz era ends and the Sherblom-Berkowitz era commences, I want to thank all of you (Andy and Steve, the entire editorial board, Information Age Publishing, all our thoughtful and generous reviewers, the Character Education Partnership, all who have submitted their work for inclusion in the journal, and all our subscribers) for helping make this journal the success it is. But let’s not rest on our laurels and be complacent. We need more subscribers and more submissions, if the journal is to continue to grow. The science and theory of character education continues to lag way behind the practice of character education. It is the goal of this journal to narrow that gap. For that we need all of your help.
Marvin W. Berkowitz
Sanford McDonnell
Professor of Character Education;
Co-Director, Center for Character and Citizenship
