Dear AIS Members,
I am delighted to share with you the following announcement from the chair of the Iranian Studies Editor-in-Chief Search Committee, Prof. James Gustafson:
The Association for Iranian Studies is pleased to announce that the governing council has appointed Prof. Sussan Siavoshi (Una Chapman Cox Professor of International Relations, Trinity University) to serve as the next editor-in-chief of our flagship journal Iranian Studies: Journal of the Association for Iranian Studies for a five-year term effective January 1, 2021.
The search for a new editor-in-chief yielded a particularly strong and diverse pool of candidates this year. In March, the AIS Council appointed a committee composed of James Gustafson (Chair, Indiana State University), Naghmeh Sohrabi (Brandeis University), and Maryam Moazzen (University of Louisville) to conduct an extensive, open, and international search. The search committee publicized the position in March and conducted outreach to solicit applications throughout Spring 2020. After reviewing letters of interest and CVs from candidates, the committee identified five finalists to interview in May 2020. The search committee then solicited feedback from two external reviewers during the interview stage: Prof. Dominic Brookshaw (Oxford University; former Assistant Editor of Iranian Studies) and Prof. Beth Baron (CUNY; former editor of International Journal of Middle East Studies). After reviewing the written applications, conducting interviews with candidates, and considering the written feedback of the external reviewers, the committee members and AIS Council unanimously voted to recommend Prof. Sussan Siavoshi as the next editor-in-chief of Iranian Studies.
Prof. Siavoshi is an accomplished scholar and skilled administrator. She is the author of two well-regarded monographs and numerous articles published in a wide range of journals, including Iranian Studies. She received the Houshang Pourshariati Biennial Book Award in 2018 for her latest work: Montazeri: The Life and Thought of Iran’s Revolutionary Ayatollah (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017). She served as the chair of the Political Science Department at Trinity University from 2006 to 2013 and was promoted to Distinguished Professor in 2012. Prof. Siavoshi has frequently dedicated her time and energy to the service of the Association for Iranian Studies and the Middle East Studies Association. Through her scholarship and service work, she will bring to Iranian Studies both a broad view of the field and a collaborative approach to managing the journal’s editorial work. The committee was particularly impressed with Prof. Siavoshi’s vision for Iranian Studies as the leading platform for the publication of outstanding work in the field, but also one that encourages and develops a diverse range of perspectives and disciplinary approaches, particularly from younger scholars. It is also noteworthy that Prof. Siavoshi will be the first female editor of Iranian Studies in its fifty-four year history.
I wish to thank the search committee members Prof. Sohrabi and Prof. Moazzen for the significant time and energy they committed to conducting this search, and our ex-officio reviewers Prof. Brookshaw and Prof. Baron for their valuable input on our candidates. The committee and AIS Council especially wish to express our appreciation to Prof. Ali Gheissari for the outstanding work he has done during his term as editor-in-chief of Iranian Studies, which has seen the journal reach new heights in its impact and vitality. We are confident that we are placing our flagship journal in excellent hands with Prof. Siavoshi.
Prof. James M. Gustafson
Search Committee Chair: Editor-in-Chief, Iranian Studies
James.Gustafson@indstate.edu
I would like to take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to Prof. Gustafson for conducting an exemplary search under very challenging circumstances. To have a scholar like Dr. Siavoshi at the helm of our journal is an inspiring outcome, and speaks to the great potential of our field to grow, diversify, and flourish in the coming years. Please join me, and the rest of AIS leadership, in welcoming Dr. Siavoshi into her new and vital role.
All best,
Camron Michael Amin
AIS President
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