From the Editor's Desk

Abstract

From the Editor's Desk Edward Ousselin, Editor in Chief I am pleased to announce that the AATF has officially designated Carine Bourget (University of Arizona) as the next Editor in Chief of the French Review. Her term will begin on July 1, with Vol. 96. Until then, since the editorial activities related to each issue of our journal begin at least nine months before publication, there is a transitional period, during which we work together. Congratulations and welcome, Carine. As for me, after five years as Review Editor and twelve years as Editor in Chief, it is time to say goodbye. The French Review has long been an important part of my professional life, ever since I started submitting articles and reviews when I was working on my dissertation. It should be noted that this journal (along with the AATF) will celebrate its centennial in 2027. A long list of distinguished colleagues have served in various editorial capacities since the French Review was first published (among them was my predecessor and mentor, Chris Pinet, bien trop tôt disparu). It has been an honor to be a part of this journal's editorial team. There are many people to whom I would like to give thanks. First, those with whom I have worked the most closely on a regular basis. Michèle Bissière, Nathalie Degroult, and Michel Gueldry have each served as Managing Editor. I am deeply grateful for their dedication and professionalism. More than once, each of them, to my relief and embarrassment, has caught mistakes that I had allowed to slip by. The same can be said for our Typesetter, Ronnie Moore <http://www.westypebookdesigns.com>, who consistently produces excellent work, often on tight schedules. Like Michèle, Nathalie, and Michel, Ronnie has been extraordinarily calm and patient when I let a typographical error go by or when I was unduly worried about meeting a deadline. I will miss working with each of you. The Review Editors (who edit and put together the reviews that we publish in our six rubrics) and Assistant Editors (who evaluate and rank the submitted articles) are too numerous to name here. It is their work that allows our journal to function. My heartfelt thanks to all those who have served in one of those capacities over the years. It has been a privilege to work with you. Many thanks also to Jayne Abrate, AATF Executive Director, who supported and facilitated new French Review initiatives, such the Book Series or the Dossiers pédagogiques. [End Page 13] Kudos as well to our former Advertising Manager, Ann Sunderland, who until 2021 helped grease the financial wheels of our journal. In the March issue (Vol. 95.3), I offered a few parting thoughts about the day-to-day work at the French Review. I also included an addendum at the end of the "Articles" section of that issue, in the hope that it will be helpful to colleagues (particularly those at the beginning stages of their career) who plan to submit an article to our journal. In this issue, I would like to reiterate what I said about the need for universities and colleges to do more to recognize and support—instead of discouraging—their faculty members who are interested in joining the editorial team of a scholarly journal. Over the years, I have found that many colleagues were reluctant to serve in an editorial capacity at the French Review because the time involved is generally not taken into account in terms of tenure and promotion. It is counterproductive for universities and colleges to insist that faculty members produce a steady stream of published articles while doing little or nothing to support those who serve at the journals in which articles are published. In other news, after nearly two years of declining submissions, this past academic year has seen a slight increase in the number of articles that are submitted to our journal, especially since early December (as usual, the final numbers will be provided in the October issue). Of course, it remains to be seen if that trend will last. The decline in submissions was probably one of the consequences of the...