In 2001, the Foundation Board of the American Society of Pharmacognosy began a new initiative as a result of the Arthur E. Schwarting and Jack L. Beal Awards for best papers in the Journal of Natural Products. In this manner, two former distinguished editors of the journal are fondly remembered. The Schwarting Award is open to all papers published in the journal within a given year (either in print or electronically). In turn, the Beal Award is awarded to younger investigators [i.e., persons within 12 years of receiving their Ph.D. degree or within 10 years of gaining their first professional appointment (e.g., Assistant Professor or equivalent position in industry or government)]. A two-tier process was used to determine the winners for papers published in J. Nat. Prod. every year. The journal editors nominate eight papers for the Schwarting Award and four paper for the Beal Award, and the ASP President appointed an ad hoc committee to make the final selections.
Dr. A. Douglas Kinghorn
I knew the late Dr. Jack Beal quite well, and the late Dr. Arthur Schwarting only slightly.However, both have an Ohio State University College of Pharmacy (Columbus, OH) connection,since Dr. Schwarting was our first-ever PhD graduate in 1943, and he later became Dean of theSchool of Pharmacy of the University of Connecticut (Storrs, CT). Dr. Beal joined our facultyhere at OSU in 1952 and became Professor of Pharmacognosy and then Associate Dean forResearch and Graduate Education. He worked for a total of 46 years on our faculty and was alsoChair of the Alumni Advisory Council for about two decades within this period. Dr. Schwartingserved as Editor of Lloydia from 1960-1976, during which time the journal gradually gainedmore of a phytochemical focus; it began to be co-published by the ASP in addition to the LloydLibrary and Museum in Cincinnati in 1961. In turn, Dr. Beal was Editor of the journal from1976-1983, and, most importantly, changed the name to the Journal of Natural Products(Lloydia) in 1979. Our publication finally became known as the Journal of Natural Products in1996, when it began to be co-published by ASP and the American Chemical Society.
The idea of having a best paper annual award started from a meeting I had as journal editor withthe late Dr. John Cassady in downtown Chicago one Sunday morning in 2000. At the time, Johnwas visiting Chicago for a meeting in his capacity as Dean of the Ohio State University Collegeof Pharmacy, and I lived locally. He was also Chair of the ASP Foundation Board and indicatedthat funds could be provided in support of an annual award for best paper in J. Nat. Prod., andsuggested that this be named after Dr. Beal. Subsequently, from the suggestion of Dr. JackRosazza, made at an ASP Executive Committee meeting, it was agreed that Dr. Schwartingshould also be honored in this way. A two-stage selection process was developed for the awards,with each journal editor nominating two papers each from the manuscripts they had handledpersonally for the previous year for the Schwarting Award, and one each for the Beal Award. Inthis way, all published manuscripts from the preceding year were considered. The ultimatewinners in each category were then selected by a special ad hoc committee nominated annuallyby the ASP President. This same selection process continues to the present day.
I did get to know Dr. Beal both when he was Editor and in the years after this, and he can only bedescribed as a true academic gentleman, who was both a highly courteous and encouragingperson. I remember during the period he was editing the journal, he would call me up on aSaturday morning, and ask if I would mind performing a given manuscript review. At the time, Iwas only a junior faculty member, so it was actually a great honor to be asked by such a well-known senior colleague. However, I was even more honored when I first became Editor-in-Chiefmyself in 1994, and he wrote me a letter of encouragement dated March 9, 1994. In this, he wrote:
Dear Doug:
I wish to congratulate you on your first issue of the Journal of Natural Products; it looks great. You are now on a venture you never believed possible. The manuscripts keep coming and coming and coming, it is like Niagara Falls – it never quits. I am sure you and your staff will do a superb job!!
Sincerely and cordially,
Jack
Dr. A. Douglas Kinghorn
Jack L. Beal Chair and Distinguished University Professor
College of Pharmacy, The Ohio State University
Editor-in-Chief, J. Nat. Prod. (1994-2019)