Editorial

In 2009, we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Journal of College Student Development (JCSD) as well as the 85th anniversary of ACPA—College Student Educators International, JCSD's sponsoring organization. ACPA has become a leading professional affiliation for student affairs and higher education professionals, and JCSD has become a pre-eminent higher education journal as well as the leading scholarly journal focused on student development, college students, postsecondary educational experiences, and college outcomes. Starting with the January-February 2009 JCSD issue, I will be the newest entry on the list of JCSD's past editors that is traditionally included in each issue. This honor follows the greater honor of serving as JCSD's editor for the past 5 years. JCSD has developed and grown immensely over its first 50 years, and thanks to the involvement and work of now countless individuals, JCSD is well-positioned for its next 50+ years.

One of JCSD's longstanding purposes is to provide scholarly leadership for student affairs professionals and associated educators, counselors, and advisors by publishing the highest quality scholarship and reviews to inform and improve professional practice. In the process, JCSD has also become a highly respected source of scholarship regularly consulted by higher education researchers and policymakers. Within communities of researchers and scholars, JCSD has become a highly prestigious journal in which to publish work, with 10-15% manuscript acceptance rates. JCSD is the only refereed journal emphasizing scholarship on college students that has been chosen for inclusion in the Social Science Citation Index's (SSCI) select group of 105 U.S. and international education and educational research journals. Journal impact factors, calculated annually and reported via Journal Citation Reports, place JCSD consistently within the top half of all indexed education and educational research journals. This is a remarkable achievement for JCSD in light of its comparatively narrow topical focus. Within the SSCI subgroup of six domestic and international higher education journals, JCSD demonstrates comparable and in some years higher scholarly impact. Additionally, over 8 of the last 9 years, the numbers of published references to articles appearing in JCSD have annually exceeded the numbers of citations to articles in any other higher education journal, demonstrating JCSD's extensive contributions to published research and scholarship.

ACPA members can be justifiably proud of JCSD's influential role and status, and JCSD benefits immensely from ACPA's support. ACPA elected leaders and International Office staff members have demonstrated unwavering support for JCSD and commitment to JCSD's continued success. Over the past 5 years as editor, I observed directly the contributions consistently made at so many levels and by so many people to ensure JCSD's high quality and success. Editorial board members and guest manuscript reviewers—all volunteers—carefully reviewed manuscript submissions and provided expert feedback to authors for manuscript improvement, whether or not a particular manuscript might be published in a future JCSD issue. The experts at Johns Hopkins University Press ensured high quality publication, distribution, and marketing. John Schuh, my colleague at Iowa State University who steps down after 14 years as JCSD's Associate Editor, provided the benefit of his knowledge and perspectives gained over a career as a highly respected scholar and professional. Leah Ewing Ross and Adam Brigham undertook vitally important dayto day work; assisted authors, prospective authors, and Editorial Board members; and managed much of the workflow. Layout editor Mark Suggs and copy editors Rainey Ratchford and Denise Rothschild ensured the highest possible accuracy and quality of each issue; I am gratified to know that they will each continue their work with JCSD.

In recent years, JCSD's justifiably high quality reputation has continued to spread among educators, scholars, and researchers. Two years ago, in order to streamline operations and broaden access to JCSD, an on-line manuscript submission and review system was customized and introduced. Manuscript submissions to JCSD have increased roughly 30% over the past 5 years, and more than half of the proportionate increase in submissions occurred after JCSD's Editorial ManagerTM Web site went live. JCSD's electronic distribution via John Hopkins University Press's Project Muse has facilitated broad access among...