In January, a University of Kentucky family scientist will begin his tenure as editor of one of the premier academic journals in the field.

UK associate professor Jason Hans was selected to be the next editor of Family Relations, a publication of the National Council on Family Relations. He was nominated by Marilyn Coleman, Curators’ Professor Emerita at the University of Missouri. A national committee of family scientists selected him, and the council’s board of directors confirmed his appointment.

“As the premier applied journal of family science, Family Relations plays a crucial role in bridging the research and practice branches of the discipline,” said Hans, a member of the UK Department of Family Sciences in the College of Agriculture, Food and Environment.

Hans has been a member of the UK department’s faculty since 2004. He has produced more than 50 scholarly publications in the research areas of reproduction, sexuality and divorce. In 2011, he became the department’s director of graduate studies.

Beginning in 2008, Hans served on the editorial board of Family Relations. He served in numerous leadership positions with the National Council on Family Relations including president of the Missouri Council on Family Relations, chair of the Directors of Graduate Study Focus Group, editor of the organization’s Academic Degree Program Guide, a member of the Future of Family Science Taskforce and several leadership roles within the council’s Advancing Family Science section.

“During my four-year term as editor, I will pursue opportunities to transition and position the journal in concert with emerging publishing and information consumption trends to maintain and expand the journal’s exposure and impact in the field amid a rapidly changing landscape,” he said.