Invitation to Participate in NABS/JNABS Name Change Discussions

General Messages
Posted: 3/15/2010
Expiration Date: 3/15/2020

Dear NABS Members,

In 2009, the NABS Long-Range Planning Committee (LRPC) submitted a 5-year Strategic Plan for the Society. This plan recommended that a name change for the society should be considered in order for the society to “better position itself so as to be viewed as a key source for science-based management decisions and to influence public policy and perceptions”. The J-NABS Strategic Plan, prepared by David Strayer and Bern Sweeney in 2009, similarly identified the title of the journal as a potential limitation to the journal’s competitiveness. The two Strategic Plans were merged into one document following the 2009 annual meetings in Grand Rapids https://www.benthos.org/Members-Only/Society-Business/NABS-5y-Strategic-Plan.aspx. The J-NABS Editorial Board has since submitted a white paper to the NABS Executive Committee further defining their recommendation for a title change for the journal https://www.benthos.org/Members-Only/Society-Business/Time-for-a-Change-.aspx.

The NABS Executive Committee and NABS Officers have reviewed the recommendations from both the Society LRPC and the Journal’s Editorial Board, and suggest that our society should engage in a discussion of these issues.

Given these recommendations, we would like to engage the society in a web-based discussion of a potential name change for the society and/or the journal. Please give us your views by participating in these discussions https://www.benthos.org/Members-Only/NABSWeb-Forum.aspx. If there is sufficient interest, we will conduct an open town hall-style meeting to discuss these issues in Santa Fe.

Thank you for giving us your input on this important issue.

Best wishes,

Nancy C. Tuchman, NABS President
Lucinda B. Johnson, NABS President-Elect