Nine months after disappointing sales and disagreements with school trustees claimed its director, Columbia University Press has hired a new person for the spot, bringing over Jim Jordan from Johns Hopkins University Press. Before joining the Baltimore publisher in 1998, Jordan worked for more than two decades at Norton, in both editorial and marketing. He was also v-p and publisher at the independent Island Press.
Jordan said he was not concerned with the difficult climate and other factors that led to the resignation of his predecessor. He acknowledged that the current publishing environment requires UP publishers to "rethink the[ir] programs," and said this could be done by remaining culturally engaged while also affirming an emphasis on scholarly works. He said he sees his mission as "trying to transmit the scholarship beyond the gates of the university," and added that he has "a real opportunity to bring the press closer to the university."
In other Columbia UP news, the press's publicity director, Madeleine Gruen, is leaving. Gruen will be pursuing a career in Middle Eastern studies. A replacement has not been named.
