An Invitation to Publish: Universitas

There is one specific aspect about UNI’s self-image that has continued to baffle me after I joined the faculty in 1991: Although our school, with more than 50 graduate programs, had a stronger commitment to graduate education than most other institutions of its size and mission, and although I personally knew dozens of faculty with stellar scholarly records, it was my distinct impression that we were hiding our light under the bushel. Whether this happened in keeping with a tradition of modesty or in order to signal to our two Iowa sister institutions that we were not about to challenge their status as research universities, I cannot say. What I do know, however, is that this needed to change...(Continued from first page)...The fears that faculty committed to serious scholarly agendas would no longer commit to excellence in teaching are, as experience as well as research demonstrate, unfounded. Actually, faculty who are not only informed about but play an active role in the developments in their fields of specialty, are much more liable to be better teachers and advisors to their students, at all levels of teaching. And graduate students greatly benefit from collaborating with faculty on their research projects, especially when such collaboration leads them to finding their own voice within published academic communication.

For these reasons, I decided to propose to the Graduate Dean and the faculty chairs of the Graduate Council and Graduate Faculty to found a journal that would help UNI in displaying its achievements in all areas represented on our campus, in generating interdisciplinary campus-wide communication and collaboration among faculty and between faculty and graduate students, to further the university’s contact with the world wide scholarly and artistic community, and to serve as a resource for the people of Iowa and beyond. The reactions were enthusiastic and so, in December, the first issue of Universitas, UNI’s new on-line Journal of Research, Scholarship, and Creative Activity, will appear on the web page of the Graduate College.

Submissions in all areas represented at the University of Northern Iowa are considered for publication from all current UNI faculty and graduate students as well as alumni faculty and guest faculty. Beyond this group of contributors, Universitas welcomes contributions from the world wide academic and artistic community. The editor (Richard Utz) and members of the advisory board (David Buch, Sue Joslyn, Syed Kirmani, Ken McCormick, Gerald Peterson, Katherine van Wormer, David Walker) especially encourage the submission of interdisciplinary contributions and work developed in collaboration with graduate and (in exceptional cases) undergraduate students. In addition to such unsolicited submissions (all of which shall undergo external and blind review), Universitas will, on an annual basis, extend invitations to submit work to the recipients of UNI’s “Donald N. McKay Research Award,” “Distinguished Scholar Award,” “Professional Development Assignments,” “Summer Grants,” and our various awards recognizing outstanding graduate student work. Similarly, the editor shall invite contributions discussing matters of specific interest to the academic community at UNI.

All submissions are considered on the understanding that they are not concurrently under consideration elsewhere and that the material – in substance as well as form – has not been previously published. Invited submissions will be read by specialists to ensure high standards of quality. All other submissions will be read by at least one specialist reader at UNI and one external referee who make recommendations about the publication decision to the editor. In all cases, the final publication decision remains with the editor. The deadline for submissions for the inaugural issue (forthcoming in December 2005) is November 5; for the second issue (forthcoming in April 2006) is February 1, 2006.

Contributions should be written to be of interest for specialists but should also be accessible to any college-educated reader who may not be fully familiar with the scholarly literature, terminology, or details associated with the specialist’s field of expertise. This means, for example, that terms, procedures, and theories may have to be explained in more generally comprehensible terms before scientific/scholarly conclusions may be drawn. However, the need for a more broadly comprehensible discourse should never result in compromising the results of scholarly research.

For additional information, please feel free to contact me at any time (utz@uni.edu). I am looking forward to receiving and reading the many fine contributions many of you will hopefully make to Universitas, and I am hoping for your assistance in making UNI a place that invites, wholeheartedly supports, and proudly displays its achievements in research, scholarship, and creative activity.

Richard Utz, Editor

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