05/16/13 ks/js local, area, key

HAYS, Kan. -- Fort Hays State University will launch a reconstituted academic journal later this month that will focus on student research.

The first issue of the ALJ in Student Research will be published online on May 30 at www.academicleadership.org.

Formerly known as the Academic Leadership Journal and housed within the College of Education and Technology, the new ALJ in Student Research is operated through the FHSU Graduate School.

The journal is edited by Dr. Jerald W. Spotswood, assistant dean of the Graduate School.

The ALJ in Student Research will publish undergraduate and graduate student articles from all disciplines, as well as faculty research that explores the intersection of student research with teaching and faculty research.

"The new focus fits well with the Graduate School mission of promoting undergraduate and graduate research, and the publication of works by domestic and international students promotes our institutional mission of preparing students to be forward thinking and world ready," Spotswood said.

The journal is housed at FHSU but represents a much wider spectrum of academia. The editorial board of the journal features both national and international scholars, and all submissions go through a blind review of at least two readings. Writers are given direction by the editorial board in an attempt to help students negotiate professional publication.

The original Academic Leadership Journal, launched in 2003, was also published online. It was last published in 2012. Spotswood applied this year to the Library of Congress for a name change and a new International Standard Book Number (ISBN).

The ALJ in Student Research will continue as an online journal with its new focus, new name and new editorial board. It will be published annually.