0(H3-7227/9l/1291-0003$03.00/0 Endocrinology Copyright ^ 1991 by The Endocrine Society
Vol. 129, No. 1 Printed in U.S.A.
Endocrinology: Some Growing Pains* Since Endocrinology is universally recognized as a prestigious and flourishing journal and shifts to a new Editor-in-Chief every fifth year, it would be a mistake to assume that these two circumstances have always existed. When I came aboard in 1952 at the invitation of Warren Nelson on behalf of the Society the fortunes of Endocrinology were at a low ebb. Gaps between the mailing of two or even three issues at one time ranged up to 6 months. The Publisher, C C Thomas, was threatening to pull out and many leading investigators were seeking other outlets for their important papers. As to term of service, Roy Hoskins, the first editor, served 25 yr, E. B. Astwood 2, Ed Dempsey 7, and myself 10. Whatever low points may be noted in the 75-yr history of this journal none can compare with its neonatal period when Hoskins had to pad the pages of what was then a quarterly with book reviews, abstracts from the world's literature, and Society news. His successor, Astwood, found the editorial demands on his time incompatible with those of stardom in thyroidology. Dempsey's situation developed coincident with his move to a new location with overwhelming administrative demands, coupled with a major shift in his field of interest, i.e. from endocrinology to electron microscopy. It was during my tenure with Al Albert at the helm of The Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM) and Rulon Rawson in charge of publications that the idea of changing editors every 5 yr was put into effect, thereby avoiding some of the perils of the past. On my receipt of the files of Endocrinology, I found that they contained 89 unopened manuscripts and many more were languishing in the hands of the Editorial Board, whose distinguished and venerable members had no limitation on tenure of service. I originally planned to edit the journal out of my office at Harvard but the looming magnitude of effort made this an unlikely prospect. The services of a part-time secretary were critical but the Society's financial situation was abysmal. I did not mind volunteering my service but finding secretarial help on a charitable basis was to say the least unrewarding. In desperation I turned to a vulnerable source, my wife, Eunice. She agreed providing I do the dishes and Received February 18,1991. * "Remembrance" articles discuss people and events as remembered by the author. The opinion(s) expressed are solely those of the writer and do not reflect the view of the Journal or The Endocrine Society.
so things went for a couple years. Every evening I came home with a bulging briefcase, the contents of which required our attention until midnight or beyond. In those days all of the redactory work on galley and page proofs was done by me. Eunice did the typing, mailings, and record keeping. She also compiled the author index and I did the subject index. After a couple of years the Publication Committee, at Ted Astwood's insistence, put Eunice on a small salary. As a neighbor he knew the extent of her labors and the burning of midnight oil. This workload was relieved to some extent when in our final year (1962) publication of the Society's journals was taken over by J. B. Lippincott. In due course Eunice gained increasing but not lavish tangible support and even the editor came to rate a small annual lump sum. The psychological impact was greater that way than by receiving the same amount in driblets. In an effort to enhance the quality of the journal I appointed a new Editorial Board of eager beavers, implored topnotch investigators to send me their best, and sought general cooperation in shortening the time of manuscript processing and publication time—a practice that persists to this day. I am pleased to note that our efforts began paying off for the Society almost immediately and continued to do so both financially and in terms of number of manuscripts submitted and number published each succeeding year. We had one big factor going in our favor, namely the arrival of significant federal support of biomedical research. Dare I recall that this bonanza of support was increasing at an average annual rate of 15% all during the fifties. This "Ask and thou shall be given" era couldn't last and didn't. It gave a tremendous boost to research, especially the basic variety. This trend can still be monitored by the heftiness of each new issue of Endocrinology. Within the Society the pendulum of attention to clinical vs. fundamental interests has been swinging to and fro from Day One. The Society was founded mainly by clinicans whose clout held sway through the early decades and led to the establishment of JCEM in 1942. My first attendance at an annual meeting was in 1933 in Milwaukee (single room w/b $3.00; double $5.00). There were about 35 registrants, many being prominent clinicians. I distinctly recall lengthy discussions leading off with, "Mr. Chairman, I have a case." Of the 28 papers presented at that meeting 21 were of purely clinical
The Endocrine Society. Downloaded from press.endocrine.org by [${individualUser.displayName}] on 17 November 2015. at 18:33 For personal use only. No other uses without permission. . All rights reserved.
REMEMBRANCE
nature. I failed to attend a couple of meetings in the late 1940s due to their strong clinical overtones. With the entrance of NIH funding at midcentury and for many years thereafter these meetings came to be predominantly devoted to the interests of basic science investigators. Currently a timely effort is under way to woo back the clinical brethren and achieve a mutually beneficial balance between these two highly overlapping realms of research. In 1959 while I was on a 6-month sabbatical leave, Ernie Knobil kept the ball rolling smoothly with a daily
Endo • 1991 Voll29«Nol
pilgrimage to the editorial office at my home. This assignment put him in the thick of things which he handled with relish and I think some memorable pleasure. In the 29 yr since our editorial stint ended I surmise that the present Editor-in-Chief, P. Michael Conn might agree that while much has changed, much remains the same. Roy 0. Greep Professor Emeritus Harvard University
The Endocrine Society. Downloaded from press.endocrine.org by [${individualUser.displayName}] on 17 November 2015. at 18:33 For personal use only. No other uses without permission. . All rights reserved.
Vol. 129, No. 1 Printed in U.S.A.
Endocrinology: Some Growing Pains* Since Endocrinology is universally recognized as a prestigious and flourishing journal and shifts to a new Editor-in-Chief every fifth year, it would be a mistake to assume that these two circumstances have always existed. When I came aboard in 1952 at the invitation of Warren Nelson on behalf of the Society the fortunes of Endocrinology were at a low ebb. Gaps between the mailing of two or even three issues at one time ranged up to 6 months. The Publisher, C C Thomas, was threatening to pull out and many leading investigators were seeking other outlets for their important papers. As to term of service, Roy Hoskins, the first editor, served 25 yr, E. B. Astwood 2, Ed Dempsey 7, and myself 10. Whatever low points may be noted in the 75-yr history of this journal none can compare with its neonatal period when Hoskins had to pad the pages of what was then a quarterly with book reviews, abstracts from the world's literature, and Society news. His successor, Astwood, found the editorial demands on his time incompatible with those of stardom in thyroidology. Dempsey's situation developed coincident with his move to a new location with overwhelming administrative demands, coupled with a major shift in his field of interest, i.e. from endocrinology to electron microscopy. It was during my tenure with Al Albert at the helm of The Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM) and Rulon Rawson in charge of publications that the idea of changing editors every 5 yr was put into effect, thereby avoiding some of the perils of the past. On my receipt of the files of Endocrinology, I found that they contained 89 unopened manuscripts and many more were languishing in the hands of the Editorial Board, whose distinguished and venerable members had no limitation on tenure of service. I originally planned to edit the journal out of my office at Harvard but the looming magnitude of effort made this an unlikely prospect. The services of a part-time secretary were critical but the Society's financial situation was abysmal. I did not mind volunteering my service but finding secretarial help on a charitable basis was to say the least unrewarding. In desperation I turned to a vulnerable source, my wife, Eunice. She agreed providing I do the dishes and Received February 18,1991. * "Remembrance" articles discuss people and events as remembered by the author. The opinion(s) expressed are solely those of the writer and do not reflect the view of the Journal or The Endocrine Society.
so things went for a couple years. Every evening I came home with a bulging briefcase, the contents of which required our attention until midnight or beyond. In those days all of the redactory work on galley and page proofs was done by me. Eunice did the typing, mailings, and record keeping. She also compiled the author index and I did the subject index. After a couple of years the Publication Committee, at Ted Astwood's insistence, put Eunice on a small salary. As a neighbor he knew the extent of her labors and the burning of midnight oil. This workload was relieved to some extent when in our final year (1962) publication of the Society's journals was taken over by J. B. Lippincott. In due course Eunice gained increasing but not lavish tangible support and even the editor came to rate a small annual lump sum. The psychological impact was greater that way than by receiving the same amount in driblets. In an effort to enhance the quality of the journal I appointed a new Editorial Board of eager beavers, implored topnotch investigators to send me their best, and sought general cooperation in shortening the time of manuscript processing and publication time—a practice that persists to this day. I am pleased to note that our efforts began paying off for the Society almost immediately and continued to do so both financially and in terms of number of manuscripts submitted and number published each succeeding year. We had one big factor going in our favor, namely the arrival of significant federal support of biomedical research. Dare I recall that this bonanza of support was increasing at an average annual rate of 15% all during the fifties. This "Ask and thou shall be given" era couldn't last and didn't. It gave a tremendous boost to research, especially the basic variety. This trend can still be monitored by the heftiness of each new issue of Endocrinology. Within the Society the pendulum of attention to clinical vs. fundamental interests has been swinging to and fro from Day One. The Society was founded mainly by clinicans whose clout held sway through the early decades and led to the establishment of JCEM in 1942. My first attendance at an annual meeting was in 1933 in Milwaukee (single room w/b $3.00; double $5.00). There were about 35 registrants, many being prominent clinicians. I distinctly recall lengthy discussions leading off with, "Mr. Chairman, I have a case." Of the 28 papers presented at that meeting 21 were of purely clinical
The Endocrine Society. Downloaded from press.endocrine.org by [${individualUser.displayName}] on 17 November 2015. at 18:33 For personal use only. No other uses without permission. . All rights reserved.
REMEMBRANCE
nature. I failed to attend a couple of meetings in the late 1940s due to their strong clinical overtones. With the entrance of NIH funding at midcentury and for many years thereafter these meetings came to be predominantly devoted to the interests of basic science investigators. Currently a timely effort is under way to woo back the clinical brethren and achieve a mutually beneficial balance between these two highly overlapping realms of research. In 1959 while I was on a 6-month sabbatical leave, Ernie Knobil kept the ball rolling smoothly with a daily
Endo • 1991 Voll29«Nol
pilgrimage to the editorial office at my home. This assignment put him in the thick of things which he handled with relish and I think some memorable pleasure. In the 29 yr since our editorial stint ended I surmise that the present Editor-in-Chief, P. Michael Conn might agree that while much has changed, much remains the same. Roy 0. Greep Professor Emeritus Harvard University
The Endocrine Society. Downloaded from press.endocrine.org by [${individualUser.displayName}] on 17 November 2015. at 18:33 For personal use only. No other uses without permission. . All rights reserved.
