Don Kennedy "Set the Bar Very High"

Donald Kennedy

Donald Kennedy, editor-in-chief of Science, has announced his plans to retire from his post at the journal. His colleagues at Science and its publisher, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), will miss him greatly.

"Don Kennedy has provided superb leadership to Science, and it will be very hard to find a successor," said AAAS Chief Executive Officer Alan I. Leshner, who also serves as the journal's executive publisher. "He's set the bar very high."

AAAS President David Baltimore will chair a committee to conduct an international search for a new editor-in-chief. Kennedy will stay on until his replacement is found.

Kennedy has served since 1 June 2000 as editor-in-chief of Science. He was named to this position by the AAAS Board of Directors in November 1999, when he was described by former Board Chair M.R.C. Greenwood as having "a broad understanding of current science issues, a wealth of experience in government and university, and incomparable insight." Kennedy is president emeritus of Stanford University and a former commissioner of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Since 1880, Science has had 17 editors-in-chief, including Floyd E. Bloom (1995-2000); Daniel E. Koshland Jr. (1985-1995); and the late Philip Hauge Abelson (1962-1984).

Founded in 1880 by Thomas A. Edison, Science has been the official journal of AAAS since 1900. In its early days, the journal was best known for physical sciences research, from wireless telegraphy to new chemical elements and early reports of the Wright brothers' flying experiments. The journal published important biological breakthroughs, too, such as the discovery that brought Mendel's laws of heredity to light.

22 June 2007