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. Author manuscript; available in PMC: 2018 Jun 5.
Published in final edited form as: Am J Obstet Gynecol. 2014 Jan;210(1):1–2. doi: 10.1016/j.ajog.2013.10.878

In appreciation of the leadership and stewardship of Drs Thomas J. Garite and Moon H. Kim

Ingrid E Nygaard 1, Roberto Romero 2,3,4
PMCID: PMC5987213  NIHMSID: NIHMS952976  PMID: 24359865

Drs Thomas J. Garite and Moon H. Kim, Editors-in-Chief of the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology (AJOG) for the last 10 years (2003–2013), have led the Journal to continue to be a valuable resource for women’s health, as it has been for nearly 150 years. During their tenure, AJOG implemented an innovative business model and format. To ensure that all US obstetrician-gynecologists have access to AJOG’s valuable content, the print version of the journal has been provided at no charge. The online version became the “official” version of the Journal, and short summaries were provided in print so that information would be presented in an efficient manner to busy clinicians.

AJOG continues to be a premier academic journal in obstetrics and gynecology. Under the leadership of Drs Garite and Kim, the impact factor of the Journal increased and the submission to review and publication times shortened dramatically; the circulation of AJOG is approximately 45,000.1 Innovative new series have been launched successfully including the widely regarded Patient Safety,2 the creation of “Reports of Major Impact,”3 an “Imaging” section in Obstetrics and in Gynecology, and Journal Club, among others. Drs Garite and Kim have also contributed by implementing the policy of AJOG to protect the integrity of the medical science that is published in the Journal and by sharing their perspectives in the form of editorials,4–7 perspectives on topical issues,8–12 and their own important original work.13–48

With AJOG’s publisher, Elsevier, Drs Garite and Kim have spearheaded many changes in the delivery of information to serve readers with an updated website and a mobile app for the Journal.49,50 Dr Garite has been the primary Editor-in-Chief for Obstetrics, and Dr Kim for Gynecology. However, they both refined the overall mission, format, and character of the Journal.

On behalf of the Editors, readers, authors, and staff, we are grateful to Drs Garite and Kim for their many contributions to AJOG and to women’s health. We consider ourselves privileged to serve as Editors-in-Chief of this prestigious Journal and will strive to steward AJOG in a manner that serves authors, readers, and patients—this will be done by being responsive to the emerging changes of the information age.

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