Tim Paulson, Director at University Press of Kansas, reports on visiting the University of North Carolina Press

I was fortunate to be able to spend four days with the team at the University of North Carolina Press. I greatly appreciate the support of AUPresses and its members in making this happen.

As a new director—and someone new to the university press sector—it’s been important for me and the University Press of Kansas (UPK) to close any knowledge and culture gaps, given my most recent experience in commercial trade publishing. When I saw the opportunity for a Directors Residency, I jumped on it. Almost literally. I joked with my UNC Press colleagues that I was probably the first person to apply (same day as I got the email). The timing was also good for me, having been with UPK for about five months before the residency—enough experience to have better questions, but soon enough in my tenure that it can help shape our plans for FY25. In other words, I saw this as a big impact learning event.

Sinéad Neville, Director at Cork University Press, reports on visiting Liverpool University Press

I spent April 22 to 26, 2024 at Liverpool University Press as part of the Association of University Presses Directors Residency Program. I am enormously grateful to the Association for making this opportunity possible and to Anthony Cond and the team at Liverpool University Press (LUP) for generously hosting me.

I completed the residency as I neared the end of my second month at Cork University Press (Cork UP). I was keen to take part in the residency whilst still in the “listening and learning” phase of my new role, gathering early observations, and beginning to think about the strategic direction for Cork UP as it nears its centenary in 2025.

Susan Ferrence, Director of Publications at INSTAP Academic Press, reports on visiting the University of Michigan Press

INSTAP Academic Press was established in 2001 to help publish projects dealing specifically with the subject of Aegean prehistory. It is part of the Institute for Aegean Prehistory (INSTAP), which was established as a nonprofit organization in the United States in 1982, and it supports projects relevant to the history of the Aegean world from the Paleolithic to the 8th century B.C. The Press is a boutique, scholarly, award-winning, nonprofit publisher specializing in high-quality volumes of primary source material from archaeological excavations as well as individual studies dealing with material from the prehistoric periods. The books that we publish are dense, lengthy, and complex with a lot of data, catalogs, tables, drawings, maps, photos, and foreign language references. We are a very small press, averaging four titles each year, with over 80 titles in print and five employees. I am an archaeologist and art historian, and have directed the press since 2012.

We do not have the institutional support of a college or university, so we are especially grateful for the services, support, and advice that AUPresses provides to its members including this Directors Residency grant.

Beth Bouloukos, Director at Amherst College Press, reports on visiting UCL Press and others in London

Let me start by expressing so much gratitude to my host at UCL Press, Lara Speicher, who was incredibly generous and welcoming. (My only complaint is that I did not get to see Jeremy Bentham’s skeleton and wax head, which was–sort of incongruously–on loan.) I was fortunate to not only visit UCL Press but also two other fully open access (OA) presses and one society publisher while I was in London. The rain showers and good humor were as plentiful as one can hope for during a trip to London.

Tyler Balli, Managing Editor at Ohio University Press, reports on visiting Ohio State University Press

Rationale for visit

I proposed my residency at Ohio State University Press for a few important reasons: First, Ohio State has been particularly diligent in its efforts to make books more accessible, something my own press is grappling with as well. Visiting OSU Press gave me the chance to discuss accessibility workflows with the whole staff (acquisitions editors, managing editor, EDP director, production editor) so that I could see in finer detail how this process should work.

Andrea Gapsch, Acquisitions Editor at Purdue University Press, reports on visiting Ohio State University Press

Rationale for visit

As a recently promoted acquisitions editor working to grow key lists at Purdue University Press, I was keen to shadow an established acquisitions editor, Kristen Elias Rowley at Ohio State University Press, a peer press in the Big Ten Academic Alliance. I wanted to learn more about proactive acquisitions, developmental editing, open access strategies, and metadata practices, as well as workflows that I am completely unaware of as an early careerist.