Well, it’s here, the end to our tenure as coeditors of Leisure Sciences. The past five years have provided a meaningful role of service and have greatly influenced our growth as scholars. Corey even advanced his quantitative research skills! Who knew?
We are proud of how Leisure Sciences has grown and the legacy we leave the new editors, built upon the labor of those who came before us, most notably Gerard Kyle, who helped mentor us into the role. There is so much gratitude to offer as we depart. First, we’d like to thank our editorial assistants Faith Ann Wagler, Luc Cousineau, and Chris Hurst. Their job was not an easy one, but we are forever grateful for their professionalism with disgruntled authors; their attention to details, including word counts; and their genuine interest in the work. Remember their names because they are the next top-notch scholars in our field, and we would not be surprised to see them as editors in coming years. We would also like to thank the University of Waterloo and the two department chairs who spanned our five-year tenure, namely Mark Havitz and Troy Glover. Without their support and our department’s resources, we could not have stayed in this role and thrived. Also, big shout out to Emma Sanders, Jacqueline Carrick, and Katie Getz from Taylor & Francis who were always extremely supportive and responsive to our requests. Of course, none of the work and success of this publication is possible without the strong associate editors (AEs) and guest editors we invited to go along with us on this journey. When we took over leadership of the journal, we decided to stack it with some of the best and brightest from the field, but we also wanted to better address diverse representations in theoretical and methodological expertise; balance in terms of race/ethnicity, gender, and sexual identity; and substantive areas of expertise. The AEs have served us well and we could not be more grateful. We’d also like to offer our family members, specifically Yancey, Troy, Claire, and Charlotte, for helping us celebrate the rewarding days and console us on the hardest ones.
Finally, we’d like to celebrate our friendship, research, and writing relationship. We’d been friends through graduate school, but in 2007 we collaborated on a special issue of Leisure Sciences on creative analytic practice, and we’ve been inseparable ever since. With several books, numerous grants, many more publications, and the legacy we leave behind at Leisure Sciences, we cannot wait to see what’s next for us (after a bit of a break)! We know it is rare to find such an amazing academic partnership and are relieved that we have it, through the good and the bad. So, what legacy you ask? Please indulge us in celebrating the progress of the journal since we began in 2016.
Looking back: 2016 to 2020
Changes Over the Past 5 Years
5 -ear Totals
And with all that said, we are so pleased to welcome the new editors, Rasaul Mowatt, Rudy Dunlap, and Justin Harmon. Their collective strength, ideas, vision, and commitment allow us to depart with confidence that the flagship journal of the field is in good hands. Thank you for trusting us with it these past five years. We look forward to being able to publish in it again.
Corey and Diana
Corey W. Johnson and Diana C. Parry,
Recreation and Leisure Studies,
University of Waterloo, Ontario, Canada