A New Duquesne University Press for a New Era

Duquesne University announced today that it has finalized a plan to maintain the imprint of the Duquesne University Press in a cost-effective fashion, preserving the 90-year legacy of the small academic press in a different form. The multi-faceted plan will create a new version of the Duquesne University Press for a new era.

Under the new model, the press will no longer produce new titles, but will focus on preserving its existing titles; make these available in print and/or electronic form; and create a new online (digital) imprint. "We are pleased that this new set of collaborations with academic partners-forged in response to input from colleagues on and off campus-will ensure that DU Press's legacy will continue for many years to come," said Dr. James Swindal, dean of the McAnulty College and Graduate School of Liberal Arts.

The specifics of the new arrangements are as follows:

First, working in collaboration with University Press of New England-which already handled the distribution function for Duquesne University Press-the press will maintain its distinctive imprint and continue to make its existing list of print books available to scholars, libraries, students and researchers. Utilizing its large inventory of hard-copy volumes and new "print-on-demand" technology to reprint books as appropriate, Duquesne will continue to disseminate its existing list of titles for many years to come.

Second, Duquesne has finalized an agreement with Penn State University Press, effective immediately, to continue two key book series: Milton Studies and Medieval & Renaissance Literary Studies. Duquesne University Press will continue to receive attribution as the founder and prior publisher of these prestigious series. It has also signed an agreement with the Philosophy Documentation Center-a highly respected publisher since 1966 with an internationally renowned editorial board-to continue its Levinas Series and the Philosophy/Communications series, ensuring their ongoing vitality. Finally, the remaining balance of an earlier grant of $7,000 to Duquesne University Press from the Calgon Corporation will be transferred to the Milton Society of America to help digitize key volumes from the Milton Variorum series, so as to preserve them and make them available to scholars worldwide.

Third, in response to a proposal by Dr. Swindal and a committee of faculty in the McAnulty College and Graduate School, the University has approved a plan by which Duquesne University Press will establish a new online (digital) presence. As an initial venture, it will soon launch a new publication titled the Duquesne Journal of Phenomenology, capitalizing on this area of historic scholarly strength for Duquesne.
The journal will be published under the imprint of Duquesne University Press utilizing the Digital Commons platform, and will be overseen by Dr. Jeffrey McCurry, director of the University's Simon Silverman Phenomenology Center. McCurry will also serve as director of the reconfigured Duquesne University Press, overseeing the continued production and distribution of existing press hard-copy titles and managing the Duquesne Journal of Phenomenology as well as any future online publications, in collaboration with the expert staff of the Gumberg Library.

"I am very excited to be a part of this new initiative, serving as editor of a new online publication, preserving DU Press's impressive list of books and re-imagining its future," said McCurry. "I look forward to working with colleagues across the University and in the intellectual and cultural world beyond Duquesne to ensure that DU Press continues its well-known tradition of excellence in publishing high-quality scholarship in fields such as phenomenology and literature even as the Press begins to embrace a new form with new possibilities."

Finally, the Barnes & Noble Bookstore on the Duquesne campus will create a new section dedicated to Duquesne University Press publications, recognizing the ongoing legacy of the University's imprint for a new era.