New editorial leadership: new ideas, but same old values

摘要

The year 2012 is another milestone in the 110 yr history of New Phytologist, as it marks the retirement of Ian Woodward, Editor-in-Chief, and Ian Alexander, Chair of the New Phytologist 1'rust. It seems appropriate under the circumstances for the newincumbents in these roles to pause and reflect on where the journal is now and where it is headed in the future. Indeed, this is exactly the same exercise that A. R. Clapham, H. Godwin and W. O. James conducted when they took over the reins from the founding editor, Sir Arthur Tansley, 30 yr after the publication of the first volume of what was then known as 1 he New Phytologist. The definite article in our title may have disappeared, but the quotation at the beginning of this article, from an editorialwritten to mark the start of their 30 yr tenure as editors, is as appropriate today as it was in 1932. Not surprisingly, we have continued to reflect upon the aims and objectives of the journal and, in the relatively recent past, these have been codified. Before thinking about the future, it is worth reminding ourselves what the journal is aiming to achieve. Eoremost amongst these aims is the publication of excellent, novel, rigorous and timely research and scholarship in plant science, and to providea high-quality service to authors, readers and reviewers. A second key aim is to recognize and promote emerging areas of plant science and to encourage continued progress and innovation in the field, achieved principally through support for symposia andworkshops (e.g. Atldn etal, 2010; Herr, 2011; Spanu & Panstruga, 2012) and through the New Phytologist Tansley Medal, which recognizes excellence in plant science by those in the early stages of their careers (Woodward & Hetherington, 2010. 2011: Dolan.2012).