Dr Joseph Crawford has announced that he will retire from the role of Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of University Teaching and Learning Practice during 2026, following a transition period agreed with the journal’s Editorial Management Team. Dr Crawford joined the journal in 2019 and has served as Editor-in-Chief since 2020.

The transition follows discussion of the renewal of Dr Crawford’s expiring Editor-in-Chief contract. While a new five-year term was formally offered, Dr Crawford instead accepted a revised contract concluding in 2026, establishing a clear pathway for transition from the Editor-in-Chief role.

At the 26 March 2026 Board meeting, the OAPA Board agreed to appoint Dr Crawford to the role of Editor-at-Large. The role reflects a move towards leveraging deeper strategic insight and will enable association-wide editorial leadership across OAPA’s publishing portfolio, including oversight, strategic development, and high-level editorial matters.

In this capacity, Dr Crawford will continue his substantial international editorial leadership through the Open Access Publishing Association, contributing at a broader system level to expanding diamond open access journal development, editorial quality, and publishing strategy.

“Dr Joseph Crawford has provided exceptional editorial leadership during a course defining period in the journal’s history. His contribution has helped position JUTLP as one of the top 20 international higher education journals, and OAPA is pleased that his experience will continue to strengthen our broader publishing mission through this next phase of leadership.”

Professor Michael Cowling, Vice President

During Dr Crawford’s leadership, JUTLP navigated a period of substantial growth and challenge, including the disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, the loss of funding, and rise of generative artificial intelligence affecting scholarly publishing. In 2020, JUTLP’s CiteScore was 1.1. It is now 8.6. In Dr Crawford’s first year, the journal screened approximately 250 to 300 manuscripts; last year, that number exceeded 1,200. Turning a journal around during these macro-economic stressors from a Quartile 3 journal to a Quartile 1 while seeing volume and scope expansion as a more inclusive practice journal is testament to good editorial leadership.

“Dr Crawford’s expertise in editorial practice has enabled OAPA’s strategic development as an international leader in diamond open-access publishing. We are excited to leverage this expertise across our rapidly growing journal portfolio.”

Dr Jo-Anne Kelder, Director of Partnerships and Publishing

Dr Crawford’s move reflects a broader strategic shift toward supporting OAPA’s publishing ecosystem at association level, including editorial leadership, publishing oversight, journal development, and sector-facing initiatives. Dr Crawford will continue working with the next Editor-in-Chief as the owner-representative of the Editorial Management Team. Further information regarding succession planning for the Editor-in-Chief role will be provided in due course.

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Professor Michael Cowling

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