Bill Moran, newly named publisher of the Science family of journals | Juan David Romero/AAAS
Long-time publishing professional Bill Moran, who joined AAAS in July 2005, was named 1 June to serve as publisher of the Science family of journals.
Moran, formerly Science’s global director of International Collaborations, Custom Publishing and Advertising, stepped in to serve as interim publisher in January. AAAS Chief Executive Officer Rush Holt, executive publisher of the Science family of journals, described Moran as “an effective and highly respected leader.”
Together with newly named Editor-in-Chief Jeremy Berg, who will arrive at AAAS on 27 June, Moran is well-prepared to continue raising the standards of the Science journals, Holt said.
“Bill Moran will be leading a strong publishing team, which he has helped build, and Jeremy Berg will be inheriting a strong editorial team, when he begins his tenure as editor-in-chief,” Holt added. “Together, they will produce an increasingly diverse and rich portfolio of the world’s most outstanding scientific journals.”
In addition to the flagship journal Science, the Science family of journals includes Science Translational Medicine, Science Signaling, the open-access journal Science Advances, and—the newly introduced—Science Robotics and Science Immunology. Moran and Berg, along with other members of the senior management team, also will play a key role in the association’s Transformation Initiative, a far-reaching effort to enhance engagement with members, increase advocacy, and ensure that the Science journals continue to provide leadership in science communication.
Marcia McNutt, current editor-in-chief of the Science family of journals, who will next month become president of the National Academy of Sciences, praised the selection of Moran as Science publisher. “Bill’s extensive experience with the many facets of publishing, excellent track record with top publishers, and superb ability to work with people across many cultures make him a natural choice for this important position,” McNutt said. “In this time of great change in society publishing, Bill is a steady, guiding hand.”
During his tenure with AAAS, Moran has been instrumental in broadening the association’s international publishing activities and collaborations. He spearheaded the launch of a Science presence in China, for example, and he developed an International Collaboration program for Science Publishing that encompasses Science Careers outreach as well as Editorial presentations to academic institutions in developed and developing countries. In 2014, he worked with the Chinese Academy of Sciences to arrange a meeting between McNutt and then Chinese Premier Li Keqiang. He further established the Science Custom Publishing activity a decade ago.
Before joining AAAS, Moran directed advertising for Informa pix/BioTechniques/PreClinica, and earlier, he was a senior vice president of advertising with the Nature Publishing Group. He was a founding member of Nature Online as well as Nature Jobs. He received his bachelor’s degree from Baruch College.