[HERITAGE-LIST] FYI: BRJ suspended by NABE board

[Scott G. McGINNIS]

Dear Colleagues:

On Sunday, April 9th, the incoming editors of the Bilingual 
Research
Journal (BRJ) (Co-Editors Dr. Terrence G. Wiley and Dr. 
Alfredo J.
Artiles of Arizona State University, and Dr. Wayne E. Wright, 
Book
Review Editor, of the University of Texas, San Antonio) 
received notice
from NABE Board President, Pedro Ruiz, that "The NABE board 
voted this
weekend to discontinue the BRJ." The incoming editors were 
informed that
they had been "released" from the contract they had just 
signed with
NABE a few months earlier. While the e-mail from Pres. Ruiz 
made
reference to starting the BRJ up again "sometime in the 
future," no
specific time frame is given.

Outgoing Co-Editor, Dr. Josue Gonzalez, has sent out an e-
mail to all
authors whose papers were under review, to inform them of the 
bad news,
and to let them know that they will need to find alternative 
publication
outlets for their research.

The current and incoming editorial teams and staff are deeply 
saddened
and frustrated by this decision made by the remaining NABE 
Board
members.  A great deal of work had gone into ensuring a smooth
transition, and the incoming editorial team had already spent 
numerous
hours planning for the successful future of the BRJ.

Not only has the NABE Board failed to honor their contract 
with the
in-coming editorial team but also with Lawrence Erlbaum 
Associates,
Inc., which was positioned to aggressively market the journal 
to elevate
its status and make it a profitable venture for NABE.

The BRJ has been serving the organization and the field for 
30 years,
providing a substantial body of scholarship that has led to 
significant
advancements in providing quality instruction to English 
language
learners. In addition, the BRJ has been crucial to the 
careers of young
scholars and researchers conducting much needed research in 
the field of
bilingual education. Over the years, BRJ editors and 
volunteer reviewers
have provided substantial mentoring and assistance to new 
authors in
helping them conduct and publish quality research. The abrupt 
suspension
of the journal is of serious concern to those of us in the 
research
community. Particularly for those scholars whose manuscripts 
were under
review, the NABE Board's decision could seriously impact 
these scholars'
prospects for job incentives, promotion, and tenure, and 
merit reviews.

For these reasons, we send you this update with regret and 
concern.

Sincerely,

Terrence G. Wiley, Ph.D.
Director and Professor
Division of Educational Leadership & Policy Studies;
Arizona State University, Main Campus
P.O. Box 872411; Tempe, AZ 85287-2411
Co-Editor, Journal of Language Identity and Education
http://coe.asu.edu/elps/

Alfredo J. Artiles, Ph.D.
Professor
Arizona State University
Division of Curriculum & Instruction
P.O. Box 2011, Farmer Education Bldg. ED 244B
Tempe, AZ 85287-2011
alfredo.artiles at asu.edu
http://coe.asu.edu/artiles
Phone: (480) 965-6156
Fax: (480) 965-4942

Wayne E. Wright, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Division of Bicultural-Bilingual Studies
College of Education and Human Development
One UTSA Circle
San Antonio, TX 78249
wayne.wright at utsa.edu
http://bbl.utsa.edu/faculty/Wayne_Wright.htm