JOURNAL OF EXTENSION UPDATE

 

Forwarded on behalf of Jamie Rae Walker, 2025 EJI President:

Dear Journal of Extension Partners,

Thank you for being a valuable supporter of Extension Journal, Inc. (EJI) and the Journal of Extension (JOE). Your institution’s support—along with the dedication of our many volunteers—makes it possible to produce the high-quality, peer-reviewed journal that serves the Extension community so well.

We appreciate Clemson University Press' critical support in guiding us through the important evolution of JOE over the last five years. However, the EJI Board has made the strategic decision to transition JOE to its own publishing repository on the Digital Commons platform (formerly Bepress). While Clemson has hosted the journal on this platform, we realize that we’ve outgrown the Press’s ability to meet our current needs. Moving to our own repository will give EJI direct control and flexibility in how JOE is managed and delivered.

This transition will allow us to:

• be more responsive to the needs of authors and readers, providing timely feedback and support;

• expand the range of publishing services offered, including the potential to host additional journals; and

• enhance scholarly activity by providing new media formats, including video, audio, and interactive content.

We expect the transition to be seamless for readers and contributors. Volume 63, Issue 4, will be published by Clemson University Press in mid-November. In parallel, we are working with Digital Commons to migrate JOE to its new home, with the process scheduled for completion by January 2026. We will share updated details as the migration progresses.

EJI will release a Request for Proposals (RFP) for the ongoing management of the platform. We invite and encourage your institution to consider submitting a proposal for this critical opportunity to help shape the future of JOE.  In the meantime, please share this letter with your faculty, staff, and other stakeholders who are authors and reviewers for JOE.  

Thank you for your continued support. Your annual subscription is essential to The Journal of Extension remaining an open-access journal and allowing your authors to submit without any additional fees or costs for authors or readers. Let’s continue to work together to bring attention to Extension scholarship.

Please feel free to contact me at urbanparks@ag.tamu.edu with any questions or concerns.

Thank you again for your continued support,

Jamie Rae Walker & the Journal of Extension Board of Directors