Building and Maintaining an Open Editorial Board

Traditionally, Editorial Boards are built by the journal’s leadership reaching out to their network of colleagues to see who are interested in joining the Board. However, this invariably results in all sorts of biases, from regionalism to difficulty in fostering scientific diversity. In contrast, an Open Board means that any applicant can apply to join the board. Whether the applicant knows someone on the leadership team has no bearing in the selection process. Selection truly comes down to the applicants’ merits. An Open Board is welcoming and naturally builds diversity, equity and inclusivity (DEI). It also encourages individuals who are genuinely interested in contributing to the journal. In this session, we will discuss how Open Boards have been used at the American Society for Microbiology, specifically for our journal Microbiology Spectrum.