scottish universities press announces first editorial board 

 The Scottish Universities Press (SUP) has announced details of its first editorial board who will be instrumental in developing the editorial and strategic vision for the SUP during the two-year start-up phase.

The Editorial Board was formed through an open recruitment process, attracting over 80 expressions of interest from academics at participating institutions. The Board comprises 14 academic members, including two Early Career Researchers. Two external members will also be selected to provide additional perspective on the development of the Press.

The 14 academic members are:

Professor Morris Altman, Dean of the University of Dundee School of Business and Chair Professor of Behavioral and Institutional Economics and Co-operatives
Dr Daniel Barreto González, School of Engineering and The Built Environment, Edinburgh Napier University

Dr Luciana Blaha, School of Social Sciences, Heriot-Watt University (ECR)

Dr Rhona Brown, Senior Lecturer in Eighteenth-Century Scottish Literature and the Periodical Press (Scottish Literature), University of Glasgow

Professor James Chalmers, Regius Professor of Law (School of Law), University of Glasgow

Professor John Cook, Professor of Media, Glasgow Caledonian University

Dr Victoria Esteves, Lecturer in Creative Industries, University of Stirling (ECR)

Dr Murray Frame, Reader in History, School of Humanities, Social Sciences and Law, University of Dundee

Dr Marianne Greated, Academic Development Lead, School of Fine Art, Glasgow School of Art

Professor David Lavallee, Professor of Duty of Care in Sport, School of Applied Sciences, Abertay University

Professor Murray Leith, School of Education and Social Sciences, University of the West of Scotland

Dr Siu-Wai Leung, College of Science and Engineering, University of Edinburgh

Dr Janette Pow, School of Health and Social Care, Edinburgh Napier University

Dr Martin Zeilinger, Senior Lecturer, School of Design and Informatics, Abertay University

The Editorial Board covers a range of disciplines and has broad representation from academics across participating institutions, both in terms of geographical range and institution profile.

Hannah Whaley, Chair of the SUP Management Board and Assistant Director of the University of Dundee Library, said: “We have been delighted by the enthusiastic response to the Scottish Universities Press from academic colleagues working at the 18 participating institutions.

“It has been encouraging that so many academics in Scotland are already very engaged in Open Access and identify with the aim of SUP to provide a not-for-profit route to publishing monographs that will support researchers to meet changing funder requirements.”

Editorial Board members will advocate for the Press and encourage submissions, review proposals, and contribute to the development and ongoing management of the peer review process.

The development of the SUP is being coordinated by SCURL (the Scottish Confederation of University and Research Libraries) led by a management board of senior library staff from participating institutions.

SUP will be owned and managed by the participating institutions and will operate on a not-for-profit basis, investing any surpluses back into the Press.

The Press aims to provide a clear and cost-effective route for researchers to make their work freely available to a global audience, meeting the requirements of funders and extending the impact of research across society.

The Press responds to recent policy developments in the Open Access landscape such as the publication of the UKRI policy and has a particular focus on the Research Excellence Framework requirement for all monographs to be published Open Access by 2024.

SUP will initially focus on monographs during the initial two-year pilot, with a view to extending coverage to other types of content in future.

The SUP will formally launch later this year with a call for content submissions. The inaugural meeting of the Editorial Board will take place in September.