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Ann Thorac Surg 2000;69:9-10
© 2000 The Society of Thoracic Surgeons

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Editorials

A farewell

^a Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri, USA

Address reprint requests to Dr Ferguson, Division of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Washington University School of Medicine, 3108 Queeny Tower, Barnes Hospital Plaza, St. Louis, MO 63110-1041

Time flies when you’re having fun

Tom Ferguson

Dear Reader: This is the last issue of The Annals that will carry my name as Editor, and Carol Blasberg’s name as Administrative Editor. We must have been having a lot of fun, because the years have certainly flown by.

Before we look ahead, as certainly we want to do in a little while, it might be worth reflecting on the past for a moment. We are prompted to do this by a remarkable e-mail circulated recently, a list given to the professors at Beloit College to help them categorize the incoming freshman class. It is incredible to learn that they have no first-hand knowledge of pull-top cans, Tiananmen Square, or the Cold War. So it will surprise us not at all that a new generation of Annals readers knows little of our background.

The Annals and The Society of Thoracic Surgeons came into being at the same time. Fred Belliveau, our publisher from Little, Brown & Co, Inc, and John Steele, the first Editor, worked frantically to have the inaugural issue available for distribution at the first Annual Meeting, held January 25–27, 1965, at the Chase-Park Plaza Hotel in St. Louis. The Annals is wholly owned by The Society, and the journal functions as the official organ (who coined that terrible phrase?) for The Society, and, by agreement, also for the Southern Thoracic Surgical Association. I make a point of this because, as much as Dr Sloan, my predecessor as Editor, and I would like to take the credit, the phenomenal growth The Annals has experienced in its 35-year existence is principally because of the vigorous growth of the two organizations we support, not any magic we have applied. As examples, The Annals began with an Editorial Board of 15 members. This number increased over time, so that at the end of his tenure, Dr Sloan’s board stood at 21. At the conclusion of this editorship, the number has increased to 40 members. Likewise, the need for greater guest reviewer input to supplement the activities of the Editorial Board has increased from a total of 16 guest reviewers in 1983 to 1,304 reviewers in calendar 1998. In 1984, volume 37, our first, published 132 papers, and the book contained 536 pages. For Volume 67 (Jan–Jun 1999) we published 603 papers, and the bound issue contained 2,096 pages. Again, these statistics are not offered to sound any trumpets, for during this past decade and a half all journals have increased their production, many new journals have appeared on the scene, and some, like Circulation, have gone to weekly publication to keep pace. Rather, the healthy trend this mirrors is the current insatiable appetite for information and knowledge.

In 35 years there have been just three editors: John Steele, whose tenure was cut short by his untimely death from cancer, Herbert Sloan for three terms, and myself for a like period of time. It this good or bad? Historical perspective will have to determine this, but my strong bias is that an editor should serve long enough to leave his imprimatur on the publication he or she directs. Benjamin Disraeli tells us that change is inevitable, and that this is a good thing. We have made many changes to the journal during our time, hopefully all for the better: the Update Section, a brainchild of John Benfield; Our Surgical Heritage Section under Tony Dobell; the Key Reference Section; and the Images in Cardiothoracic Surgery. Also, Tom Karl has done an outstanding job as Internet Editor for The Annals. All of these, and changes in format and design, were largely the result of input from the Editorial Board and from you, the reader. We hope we have been open and receptive to all positive suggestions for change.

And more change is around the corner. The next issue will carry the name of L. Henry Edmunds as Editor and Heide Pusztay as Managing Editor. Hank was selected by a blue-ribbon search committee of The Society, and we are convinced he is a superb choice who will carry The Annals forward to levels of excellence far beyond what Herb Sloan and I have been able to achieve, and that’s as it should be. His level of dedication to the position is total, as evidenced by the fact that he has been at work planning, designing, and making preparations for an entire year. We wish the new team every success.

Neither space nor your patience will permit us to thank all the persons who deserve our gratitude, so with your great indulgence we will single out only two groups. The first are the 66 individuals who have served on the Editorial Board during our time. Our debt to them is boundless, our ability to thank them adequately is lacking. The second are you, the loyal readers of The Annals, to whom we simply say, thank you.

As our term of service draws to a close, people ask what accomplishments have provided the greatest satisfaction. That is a very hard question, for there are so many examples. But these four do stand out above the others:

1. The first was the wise but emotionally painful decision to leave Little, Brown & Co, Inc, our publisher from 1965 to 1988, and join with Elsevier Science Inc. At the time, it was a difficult choice, but in retrospect should have been a simple one, simply by applying the Willie Sutton rule: Little, Brown & Co was basically a book publisher, Elsevier almost exclusively a journal publisher. You want to publish a top journal? Go where the money is. The 11 years we have partnered with Elsevier have only served to reinforce the wisdom of this decision.
   
2. During Albert Starr’s presidential year (1986), he urged The Society of Thoracic Surgeons to position itself as a global organization, and worked ceaselessly to recruit members from all countries of the world. Working on his cue, we made a conscious decision to do the same with The Annals. We began to solicit guest reviews on the basis of expertise alone, without regard for geography (or even sometimes the language barrier!). In 1991, international members were appointed to the Editorial Board for the first time. This globalization has paid dividends in so many ways that it is difficult to catalog them, but it is now clear that The Annals of Thoracic Surgery is truly recognized as an international product. Last year, more than half the manuscripts submitted to us, and 48% of the papers published, were international in origin. We received papers for consideration from 51 countries around the world.
   
3. The information explosion and the global shrinkage occurring in the last decade, in which The Annals has been an active participant, have provided the opportunity for The Society and the journal to lead the way in electronic information transfer for cardiothoracic surgeons everywhere. When the longitudinal test of time is applied at some future date, the single individual to whom the specialty will be most indebted is Bob Replogle. His vision without boundaries has let us make a beginning, a very good beginning to be sure, but a beginning that has no comparison to what ultimately we can achieve. We are grateful that we and The Annals have an opportunity to be a part of these exciting times.
   
4. So above are three areas that have given us great pleasure and reward during our time with you. What is the fourth? Like David Letterman’s Top Ten List, we believe this is Number One: On December 23, 1982, Herb Sloan wrote a letter to Jerry Rainer, then Secretary of The Society. Speaking about The Annals in his clear style of expression, Herb had this to say: "I became Editor in 1969 as John Steele was dying of a malignancy. The Annals continued to grow steadily in circulation, in revenue, and in appeal as a suitable forum for thoracic surgeons. Its philosophy paralleled that of The Society: To provide a place for ALL thoracic surgeons to relate experiences, which will help other practicing thoracic surgeons give better patient care." I was so impressed by this clear statement of purpose that when I became Editor 2 years later, I placed Dr Sloan’s quotation on the title page of the journal. It has been on every title page ever since. I have used it to help guide me through many difficult decisions regarding content. That we have been able to adhere to this statement of our goal is my greatest satisfaction, and, yes, pride.
   

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This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Personal Folders Download to citation manager Author home page(s): Thomas B. Ferguson Carol L. Blasberg Permission Requests Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Ferguson, T. B. Articles by Blasberg, C. L. Search for Related Content PubMed Articles by Ferguson, T. B. Articles by Blasberg, C. L.