Volunteer Opportunities: Editorial Boards

The Essentials editorial board plays an important role in the association’s ongoing efforts to provide excellent resources and services for members. Essentials is an educational e-publication provided to AFA members to educate readers about a variety of topics, setting the stage for critical thought and discussion about cutting edge developments in the field. Essentials focuses on pieces that provide new ways of doing, evaluate and provide recommendations challenging commonly held views of practice, and provide brief but immediately applicable ways to strengthen fraternity/sorority practice. Articles in Essentials should drive individuals towards practice improvement including research to practice, theory to practice, and what ideas may mean in the context of the daily work of the profession.

Articles seek to start conversation around the way we approach our work and to illuminate innovative ways of pushing the fraternal movement forward. Please note that pieces included in Essentials provide various perspectives across the field of fraternity/sorority life, and thus may not be reflective of the policies or positions of the association.

Essentials editorial board members are expected to produce a quality publication grounded in the Core Competencies for Excellence in the Profession.

The Essentials co-editors supervise the Essentials editorial board. The committee members will divide their assigned responsibilities to distribute creative and editorial functions.

Editorial Board Responsibilities & Commitment

• Brainstorming with the board and editor, soliciting articles, communicating with authors, sending articles to editorial board members for copy editing, reviewing each article, and sending finished articles to the editor.

• Edit 2-3 articles each month.

• Assist in the brainstorming of new themes and potential authors.

• Maintain communication with authors submitting articles.

• Respond to board communications in a timely manner.

• Participate in board virtual meetings and email discussions.

Qualifications

• Prior experience writing and editing articles.

• Background in grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and AP Style.

• Utilize the resources of their institutions/organizations as well as their own professional development networks to create or solicit themes for issues and articles for publication.

The Core Competencies for Excellence in the Profession highlights the need for sound and credible research on fraternity/sorority life and professional practice. Journal of Sorority and Fraternity Life Research & Practice seeks to fulfill this need through the annual publication of two journal issues containing high quality research. The editor will lead the assistant editor, associate editor(s) and peer review board members as they recruit, review, and publish research to advance the fraternal movement and profession of fraternity and sorority advising.

The peer review board reports to the editor. The editor, assistant editor, and associate editor(s) will designate the peer review board member’s responsibilities and functions. The peer review board member may also be asked to submit monthly updates on the status of his/her goals on dates determined in consultation with the editor.

Editor Responsibilities

Check back soon for more information.

Peer Review Responsibilities

• Review and edit articles for Oracle.

• Assist the editor, assistant editor, and associate editor(s) in promoting the journal and developing and recruiting research article submissions.

• Mentor and develop research appropriate for submission to Oracle.

• Act as a steering committee to guide the future direction of the journal.

• Participate in monthly conference calls.

• Participate in initiatives directed by the AFA staff or board of directors.

Qualifications

• Well versed in the role of research in advising fraternities and sororities.

• Established record of contributions to research.

• Prior editing and publication experience and a strong background in grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, and APA Style.

Commitment Required

• Review at least 2 to 4 articles annually with a swift turnaround (no more than 21 days).

• Maintain contact with the editor and follow up with tasks as assigned.

• Contribute meaningful dialogue to editorial board discussions on regular editorial board conference calls.

• Prior to the submission deadline, the time commitment equals approximately 1 hour per week.

• During the editing process, the time commitment may be up to 5 hours per week.

Perspectives aims to provide a forum for research, ideas and information related to fraternities and sororities that is thought provoking and innovative; shares new information; highlights best practices; and challenges thought. Developed under the guidance of AFA staff, the publication relies on a committed and skilled volunteer base that operates year-round in an effort to publish three – four issues per year.

Each issue of Perspectives includes multiple written and multimedia articles, which cover a wide range of industry topics, including competencies, historical perspectives, research foci, and applying perspectives into practice. Each issue also includes a letter from the editors, and a message from the AFA President.

Responsibilities:

Responsibilities of AFA’s volunteer committees are grouped into two categories: strategy and execution. Responsibilities of the Perspectives Editorial Board will be moderate in strategy and high in execution. 

All AFA volunteers are expected to abide by general AFA volunteer expectations outlined in volunteer training modules and to promote and champion the strategic direction of AFA in alignment with AFA Board of Directors and Central Office Staff. 

Strategic Responsibilities

• Co-Editors: Responsible for editorial board management; serving as liaisons to the AFA staff; determining publication vision; oversight of content generation, author support, and editing processes; and creating an engaging and meaningful volunteer experience.

Execution Responsibilities

• Co-Editors: Responsible for leading the issue theming and article solicitation process; delegating and overseeing copy editing responsibilities to editorial board members; providing final approval of all submissions intended for publication; and working with AFA staff on publication and issue promotion.
• Editorial Board member: Responsible for regularly brainstorming and pitching article ideas; identifying and conducting outreach to potential authors; thoroughly copy editing assigned articles to ensure articles are factually accurate, advance the purpose of the publication, and adhere to enforce AFA brand standards and AP style

Commitment Required

• Appointments are for a 2 year term with approximately half of the editorial board transitioning each year.

• Maintain contact with the editor and follow up with tasks as assigned.

• Contribute meaningful dialogue to editorial board discussions on regular editorial board conference calls.

• Prior to the submission deadline, the time commitment equals approximately 1 hour per week.

• During the editing process, the time commitment may be up to 5 hours per week.