AGU announces update to its name change policy

AGU is pleased to announce an update to its corrections policy to allow for more flexibility around author name changes in our publications to better align with our values of diversity, equity and inclusion.

The new update in our policy supports anyone who wishes to change their name on a previously published AGU publication for any reason. This includes but is not limited to marriage or divorce, religious conversion and alignment of gender identity. This policy aligns with that of and is supported by our publishing partner Wiley.

These changes will be treated confidentially and made as quickly and accurately as possible. Authors will not be asked for any proof of the name change. An erratum notice is optional, but requesters should know that a notice helps the correction to be included in some indexing services. While AGU encourages notification of co-authors, this is at the requesting author’s discretion. AGU can assist with this notification if requested.

This update aligns with AGU’s values, and our goal of promoting and exemplifying an inclusive scientific culture. Both AGU’s Publications Committee and Diversity and Inclusion Advisory Committee support the updated policy and we are pleased to take this step toward building a more diverse, equitable and inclusive Earth and space sciences community.

There are a few important details to note related to the new policy:

• Once requested, AGU will work as quickly as possible to make the changes and it may take several weeks for the changes to take effect.
• Your ORCID is one means of curating your record of authorship. We recommend you register with ORCID and ensure your profile accurately reflects your name and your publication history.
• The name change will appear on the author list and metadata of the html version, which is the version of record. We may not be able to update PDF files. References in other works, including those for AGU publications, will not be updated.
• While AGU will update its own published version of record to reflect name changes, and provide an update to standard indexing services, the changes might not cascade to other databases containing an author’s name and work.

The updated policy states:

AGU Publications fully supports authors who have changed their name for reasons including but not limited to marriage or divorce, religious conversion, and alignment with gender identity and will update the published version of record to reflect this change. Authors should contact AGU Publications to request updates to their published record.

AGU staff will treat such requests confidentially whenever possible and work with authors to ensure changes are made quickly and accurately. Authors will not be asked to provide reason, proof, or documentation of their name change and erratum notices will be at the discretion of the author when a name change is requested. To preserve confidentiality, co-author notification will only occur at the author’s request. Please be advised that, unless co-authors are notified, citations of the paper with outdated references may result. AGU will update and republish the paper and redeliver the updated metadata to indexing services.

We believe this updated policy is a step toward greater inclusivity in our publications and the broader Earth and space sciences community.

As a reminder, to begin a name change request, please email the AGU publications team.