This article appears in Volume 62, Issue 1.
Front page of the first ASP Newsletter with Kennelly as Editor In Chief.
It is with mixed emotions that I am writing this final “Editor’s Corner.” I remember 20 years ago when then-ASP President Bill Fenical asked me to edit the Newsletter. My journalist background was limited to editing my high school newspaper, but I relished the opportunity to bring pharmacognosy to a wider audience. I felt the task of being ASP Newsletter editor was a great opportunity, and I have appreciated seeing how I could impart my vision to this publication, following in the footsteps of past editors, Drs. Melvin Gibson (1964-1968), Ralph Blomster (1969-1982), Joy Reighard (1983-2002), and Renuka Misra (2002-2005).
Previous ASP Newsletter editors had done almost everything involved in the publication. President Fenical saw an opportunity to invest in a Newsletter staff, by making the publication almost completely electronic, and using the savings to allow me to hire part-time staff to help with the layout and proofreading. This made the job of editing this quarterly publication much more feasible. I am grateful to my former doctoral students who took up the task of learning how to produce the Newsletter electronically. Amy Keller, who now serves as ASP Secretary, was my assistant editor. For about a decade, Amy was my right-hand person, interacting with authors, writing articles, and being a great help in everything we did. I am delighted that Amy is still so closely associated with the ASP. James Lyles served as our first layout editor, and he did a terrific job creating a PDF-formatted newsletter.
After James graduated, we hired Nancy Novick, a New York based graphic artist, who brought her brilliant sense of style and originality to the look of the Newsletter. After Amy left in 2017, we hired Trish Carver, who was a wonderful professional addition to the staff, providing copy editing and proofreading. Her attention to detail was very telling of her background as an English major. As editor, it has been a joy to work with so many talented and professional staff over the years.
I also want to thank the many volunteer writers for the ASP Newsletter over the years. From the very beginning 60 years ago, through the present day, the mission of the ASP Newsletter has been to inform members about societal activities as well as highlight key accomplishments of members. This mission would not have been possible without the dedicated group of volunteer writers. The rhythm of the Newsletter was established over the course of my editorship. The fall issue heralded the incoming ASP president address to members. A major focus of the fall, winter and spring newsletters was to inform the membership about the annual meetings. In the fall Newsletter, we also highlighted the major societal awards, which grew to include the Norman R. Farnsworth Research Achievement Award, Varro E. Tyler Prize, and Matt Suffness Young Investigator Award. We also tried to cover how world events impacted ASP members: the 2007 shooting at Virginia Institute of Technology, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the 2010 earthquake in Chile, and the 2020 war in Ukraine are just a few such examples. We also wrote obituaries, especially during the COVID pandemic, for ASP members who passed away, and I always felt this was an especially important service we provided. More joyful columns were also covered in detail including those highlighting professional accomplishments of members and major donations made to the ASP Foundation.
During my tenure as Newsletter editor, a number of regular columns were added, often based on suggestions from ASP members. “From the Archives” was introduced as a great way to learn about the society’s history and bring in the expertise of our friends at the Lloyd Library. “Meet a New ASP Member” is a tried-and-true way for professional societies to get to know a few of its new members, and this was always one of my favorite columns. “Behind the Scenes in Pharmacognosy” highlighted the latest research article published by an ASP member, typically in our flagship Journal of Natural Products. “News from Washington,” later renamed “Capital Communiques,” was conceived as a way to see how government policies impacted natural products research. “Hot Topics in Pharmacognosy” was developed by the ASP Fellows as a way of detailing natural products research, not necessarily conducted by an ASP member. “Field Notes in Pharmacognosy” came about from an ASP Executive Committee member noting that many ASP members got interested in this discipline due to their love of field work. I want to thank all of the columnists who contributed so faithfully to the Newsletter these past 20 years.
Most of all, I would like to thank the readers of the Newsletter who have faithfully read this publication and given me feedback or suggestions over the years to make this a better vehicle for communications within the society. As we move into a new technological age , it is clear that the way the Newsletter is published must change. As we start this new chapter, I want to thank the many members of the ASP Newsletter Advisory Committee, and ASP leadership, who gave us constructive feedback over the years. I wish Melissa Henckel great success as she takes on the role as the new ASP Newsletter editor. Good luck!
