The Press, the publishing arm of the university, is now a department under the report of Libraries. The move provides new expertise and capacity for both organizations, positioning them to better align with Kent State’s strategic priorities and explore innovative approaches to delivering knowledge through scholarly communication and publishing.
University Libraries’ services will equip the Press with broader support for copyright, fiscal management, website, communications, event planning, desktop and software development. Likewise, the press is poised to add expertise and capacity to University Libraries, including scholarly publishing, design, editorial production, distribution-chain management and licensing.
Established in 1965, the award-winning Press publishes 35 titles each year and two journals. It is internationally known for its scholarly contributions to the study of Hemingway, the Inklings (including J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis), Civil War history, Ohio history, true crime, poetry (including the Wick Poetry Series) and sports. The press had been reporting directly to the Office of the Provost, where University Libraries currently report. The reporting change still leaves the press within the provost’s portfolio.
“It makes great strategic sense to me,” says Todd Diacon, Kent State’s senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. “University Libraries and the Press have similar skill sets and missions. Bringing them together allows both organizations to maximize their resources, while exploring news ways to work together.”
“The world of scholarly publishing is changing and evolving rapidly,” says Ken Burhanna, interim director of the Press and assistant dean of University Libraries. “Bringing the press and University Libraries together creates a strong team to explore issues, such as scholarly open access, textbook affordability and innovative approaches to delivering knowledge to national and international audiences.”
For more information about the Press, visit .
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