Editorial
| DOI | 10.1177/1035719X1201200201 |
| Published date | 01 September 2012 |
| Author | Graeme Harvey |
| Date | 01 September 2012 |
| Subject Matter | Article |
2Evaluation Journal of Australasia, Vol. 12, No. 2, 2012
EDITORIAL
For this edition we start by
acknowledging the contribution of
Associate Professor Rosalind Hurworth
as Editor of the Evaluation Journal of
Australasia (EJA) who passed away in
December 2012 after a short struggle
with ovarian cancer. Ros’s contribution
as Editor of EJA has been a longstanding
one of over 10 years and during that
period her strong stewardship has helped
to build the professional standing and
quality of the journal. This edition, which
Ros continued to assist with during her
illness, is dedicated to her.
Vale Associate Professor Rosalind Hurworth
The quality of publications provided by a professional
association is an indicator of the maturity and standing
of that association. The Australasian Evaluation
Society is one of several mature evaluation associations
that provide a high-quality journal of great value
to members. There is no doubt that the quality of a
journal is highly dependent on the attributes of its
editors. An editor needs to have a range of abilities,
not least of all the capacity to work with potential
contributors to produce well-written material that will
appeal to readers. The editorial process also entails
attention to detail, from the moment copy comes in to
the layout of the final product.
These are attributes that Ros Hurworth held in
abundance and generously shared in working to
continually improve EJA . Her love of language and
knowledge of its intricacies and structure has helped
to ensure the readability of the journal and its quality
as a professional publication. A keen advocate of
the evaluation profession, Ros has also been tireless
in building understanding and capacity (especially
across the qualitative sphere) through her skills as a
communicator and educator.
Her joy in communication and learning has promoted
a positive environment for supporting and encouraging
first-time authors as well as the provision of honest but
constructive feedback where required. Her ability to
edit papers and articles to ensure they are word perfect
was phenomenal. As noted by a colleague: ‘Her red
pen is famous amongst her colleagues, students and
friends—quality is the mantra’.
Ros took on the editorship at a crucial period in the
life of the Australasian Evaluation Society. Through
this role she ensured that EJA took a more eclectic
approach to content, catered for refereed and non-
refereed articles, and included book reviews. The
journal also went online during her editorship.
At about the same time as she took on this editing role,
Ros became the Director of the Centre for Program
Evaluation at the University of Melbourne. Rather
than being daunted by the increased workload, she
used her position to influence past and present students
to contribute to the journal. An inveterate conference
goer, she scouted conference sessions at the AES and
elsewhere, for articles that would be of interest to the
membership. She was also able to tap into contacts
in cognate disciplines, such as the quantitative
methods community of scholars, to solicit articles for
publication.
Looking across professional associations over the past
decade, one sees well-known evaluators such as Elliot
Stern, Brad Cousins and Tom Schwandt in the roles
of journal editorship in the UK, Canada and the USA
respectively. Ros Hurworth, through her publications
and teaching, can stand alongside these luminaries, as
Editor of the Evaluation Journal of Australasia.
All of this eort was given without any consideration
of her own time, workload and energy. She did it
because it was the right thing to do; she did it because
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