April 28th, 2016

Scholarly iQ continue industry support - SSP announces twelve fellowships for 2016

The Society for Scholarly Publishing (SSP) has announced that 12 students and early-career professionals have been awarded highly competitive Fellowships for 2016. As a SSP Fellowship Sponsor, Scholarly iQ are pleased to provide support for the program, an extension of the former Travel Grant Program, which offers a wide range of career development and nurturing opportunities for students and early-career professionals in the scholarly communication industry. SSP’s Professional Development Committee received nearly 100 applications for these coveted positions for which benefits include year-round training opportunities, one-year complimentary SSP membership, free registrations to selected SSP events, an assigned industry expert as mentor, and participation in community forums and SSP committees.

"In addition to the value that this program brings to the Fellows, I am equally excited by the perspective and knowledge these young professionals will bring to SSP," said SSP President Ann Michael. "The Fellowship Program will enrich all SSP members who participate, and I'm personally looking forward to being a mentor!" SSP Fellowship recipients, aka the ambassadors of the Society, are expected to engage in SSP events, be actively involved in an SSP committee, participate in a Fellowship project and surveys, and work with committees to promote and highlight the Fellowship Program. The 2016 Fellows are:

Early Career Fellows: Jennifer Geyer, University of Michigan Press, MI; Sarah Melton, Emory University Center for Digital Scholarship, GA; Nick Michal, Cambridge University Press, NY; Jenna Pope, John Wiley & Sons, NJ; and Ali Versluis, University of Guelph, Canada.

Student Fellows: Erica Hayes, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN; Carl Haynes, Syracuse University, NY; Mohammed Hossein Asadi Lari, University of British Columbia, Canada; and Charles Lilly, University of Texas, Dallas, TX.

International Fellows: Marcel Knöchelmann, University College, London, UK; Cherry-Ann Smart, University of the West Indies, Jamaica; and Isabel Thompson, Oxford University Press, UK.

"The SSP Board of Directors saw an opportunity to strengthen an already successful program by expanding the number of opportunities for these young professionals to learn and network with others working in scholarly communications," said SSP Executive Director Melanie Dolechek. "Judging from the number of applications received, it's clear these changes were well received." The Fellowships are funded through corporate sponsorship and from the SSP operating budget. Corporate Sponsors for 2016 include Apex CoVantage, Canadian Science Publishing, Inera, KWF, Scholarly IQ, and Semantico.

"This program would not be nearly as successful without the contributions of our generous sponsors and commitment of our mentors who volunteer their time," added Dolechek. "The Professional Development Committee has done a tremendous job enhancing the program and recruiting and selecting Fellows. They are very passionate about making sure the future leaders of scholarly publishing are positioned with the tools and resources that will help them succeed."