MINNEAPOLIS — The National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) is delighted to announce that Kristi Williams, Ph.D., of The Ohio State University, has been named the new editor of the Journal of Marriage and Family (JMF), NCFR's flagship research journal. She will begin her four-year term as editor of the peer-reviewed journal — which has been the leading research journal in the family field for more than 70 years — with the publication of its February 2017 issue.

"[Dr. Williams] is highly regarded in the sociological discipline and is clearly seen to be one of the stars of research on the family and health," wrote William R. Avison, Ph.D., in his nomination letter. "[She] also has a very keen sense of what the new currents of thought and investigation are within the field. Her own work is cutting edge and I think she is extremely talented in identifying new directions in research that contribute to a journal's reputation."

Dr. Williams will succeed current JMF Editor R. Kelly Raley, Ph.D., of the University of Texas at Austin.

Dr. Williams has been an associate professor in Ohio State's Department of Sociology since 2008, and from 2002-08 was an assistant professor in the department. She also is the department's director of undergraduate studies, and is a senior scholar with the Council on Contemporary Families. Dr. Williams completed her undergraduate, master's, and doctoral degrees at the University of Texas at Austin.

In addition to publishing and presenting her scholarly work widely, Dr. Williams has been a deputy editor of Society and Mental Health and an associate editor of Demography since 2013. She served two terms as an associate editor of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, and was on the editorial board of the Encyclopedia of Quality of Life Research.

"Dr. Williams will bring tremendous energy to the work of JMF editor," wrote NCFR's journal editor search committee. "In addition, we sensed that the energy would be directed toward some potentially valuable innovation for the journal. … She discussed with us some concrete plans to increase the public visibility of the journal and translate the research of the journal for a wider audience" while also "maintaining the journal's scientific merit and objectivity."

The National Council on Family Relations is the premier professional association for the multidisciplinary understanding of families. NCFR has a membership of more than 3,000 family researchers, practitioners and educators. For more information on the National Council on Family Relations or its scholarly publications, visit the NCFR website at ncfr.org.