UW Press Marks 60-Year Imprint on Research Publishing

In 1937 members of a faculty committee declared it was not enough merely to create and analyze knowledge. Knowledge, they said, also must be communicated.

“Research without publication leaves the task half done,” they said in a report published that year. The committee’s deliberation thus called the University of Wisconsin Press into being.

The UW Press’ life span has been “remarkable and productive,” says Allen Fitchen, current press director. “This will be the first time we have celebrated the press’ contribution to the state and the university. We’ve moved to new quarters (2537 Daniels St., off campus on the east side of town) and are about to begin a partnership with the State Historical Society of Wisconsin, in which we will be distributing their titles.”

In the last 60 years, the press has realized an international reputation in the areas of African and Latin American studies, anthropology, autobiography, classics, environmental history and literary criticism. The press also distributes language-placement tests used nationwide, developed at UW–Madison’s Testing and Evaluation Center.

Fitchen says he would like the press to continue to build titles especially in the fields of environmental studies, film studies, Native American studies and social issues. In coming years the press also will turn its attention to electronic printing and distribution techniques. “We are looking forward to the challenges and opportunities that the new technology has brought to the world of publishing,” he says.

To commemorate 60 years of publishing regional, general interest and scholarly books, a current exhibition honors the nearly 1,800 titles and 5.25 million books UW Press has printed during its history. On display in the Memorial Union’s Theater Gallery, the exhibition will run through Oct. 5.

The press will host a public reception Sept. 22 at 7 p.m. in the Memorial Union (check Today in the Union for room location).