Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays

The Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays (JOIE) is an open access, online journal sponsored by UMRA. The journal provides a digital venue for a wide variety of articles submitted by retired or active faculty, staff and alumni from the Twin Cities and coordinate campuses of the University. The articles are intended for a broad, general audience.

JOIE Online

Please visit the JOIE website to enjoy the articles and video presentations or to submit one of your own. Examples include biographical, historical, or literary essays; matters of curricular interest; comments on University issues; pedagogical essays; short stories or poetry; book reviews; speculative scientific hypotheses or essays. As an electronic journal, JOIE can accommodate graphics and illustrations and is well-suited for photographic essays or other artistic presentations.

Recent additions to the journal include: an anthology of retirement stories, Retirement Stories; a surprisingly dramatic early history of University athletics, College Athletics: Evolution of Structure and Control at the University of Minnesota; a review of residential and community rainwater control methods, Stormwater Management: Raingardens to Bioretention Areas and three video presentations by UMRA members.  JOIE publications have persistent URLs through the University Digital Conservancy and are accessible on the internet using search engines such as Google.

Submitting to JOIE

There is no due date for submissions to JOIE and articles are published as soon as they are reviewed and approved by a committee of volunteer editors. There are no set formatting rules or length restrictions. All high-quality contributions are welcome. Editor Kristine Bettin will assist authors in fine-tuning a paper for publication in the journal. Also, please contact Kris with any questions or suggestions on ideas or content.

Volunteering for JOIE

The JOIE editorial committee is seeking a new editor-in-chief and additional reviewing committee members. The modest workload for committee members includes reviewing journal submissions for quality and accuracy, and participating in ad hoc Zoom meetings (two to three per year) with the editor-in-chief. Committee members also assist in preparing administrative documentation for JOIE, such as instructions and policies for the journal.

The editor-in-chief accepts submissions to JOIE and distributes them to the editorial committee members for review. He/she is responsible for communicating with the author, obtaining publication permission, and posting the contribution online. The editor-in-chief is also responsible for maintaining documents relating to the review of JOIE submissions, annual reports, and policy documents. In order to support a robust journal, the editor-in-chief needs to contribute regular articles on JOIE to UMRA-associated media, solicit journal contributions, and recruit committee members as needed.

~ Kristine Bettin