Brian Crawford Will Head ACS Publications

Bringing a wealth of germane business leadership experience, Brian D. Crawford has been named the next president of the ACS Publications Division, effective on Aug. 6. He will succeed Robert D. Bovenschulte, who is retiring after 10 years in the role. Crawford is currently senior vice president of ACS???s Journals Publishing Group.

The Publications Division publishes or copublishes 36 chemistry journals and Chemical & Engineering News, as well as reference books and conference proceedings.

???Everyone involved in this extensive search was??impressed with Brian???s track record of??significant accomplishments at ACS and in his previous positions over a 22-year span,??? says ACS Executive Director and CEO Madeleine Jacobs. ???Brian has??a dynamic vision, understanding of the challenges facing publishing at a time of rapid change, business acumen, leadership skills, international recognition and renown in the??scientific-technical-medical (STM) publishing??arena, commitment to excellence and collaboration, and impressive educational credentials.???

In his new role, Crawford says that he will work ???to ensure that the Publications Division continues to strive for publishing excellence—by leveraging innovative Web publishing technologies, creative editorial products in response to R&D trends and market needs, and flexible information access models in service of our authors, customers, and readers worldwide.???

Crawford earned a B.S. degree in biochemistry from the University of Maryland in 1976 and a Ph.D. in biophysics from Johns Hopkins University in 1982.

He was a visiting lecturer and adjunct associate chemistry professor at Towson State University, a fellow and staff scientist at Los Alamos National Laboratory, and an assistant professor in the Biology Program and director of the Molecular Biology Honors Program at Long Island University in Brooklyn. He has published numerous scientific papers, as well as articles on publishing.

Before joining ACS in 2004, Crawford was vice president and STM publishing director for global life and medical sciences at John Wiley & Sons.

Crawford is currently serving a two-year term as chairman of the executive council of the Professional & Scholarly Publishing Division of the Association of American Publishers. He has also served on the board of directors of the American Medical Publishers Association and the Wiley Foundation.