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Contact:
Brenda O'Neall-Smith, ISU Press, (515) 292-0140 (Ext. 627)
ISU PRESS, BLACKWELL SCIENCE SIGN AGREEMENT
AMES, Iowa -- Iowa State University Press has merged with Blackwell Science, an international scientific and technical publishing company.
ISU Press and Blackwell announced a plan to merge in July. The parties completed the merger on August 31.
Blackwell Science is a leading independent scientific and technical publisher and the largest publisher for academic and professional societies in the world. Blackwell Science and ISU Press have worked closely together for several years in veterinary, agriculture and other publishing areas.
As part of the transaction the University will receive $2.2 million. All these funds will be used to establish an endowment to support scholarly publishing activities at Iowa State University. Beginning next year, the endowment should make available about $110,000 annually to support publication efforts of faculty, staff and others. Distribution of funds will occur through the Provost's Office, with advice from a newly created Publication Endowment Committee.
"Up to now, a relatively small number of ISU authors have taken advantage of ISU Press's resources. I believe we now have a much greater capacity to support their efforts. We hope more faculty publish through ISU Press now that it is part of an internationally renowned press. And we now have the endowment fund providing a steady stream of support for worthy scholarship of our faculty and staff," said T. Al Austin, president of ISU Press.
ISU Press was founded in 1924, and has an international reputation in agriculture, veterinary medicine, journalism and aviation publications. It was affiliated with Iowa State University,
though it received no state funding. It owns its own land, buildings and other assets. Its board of directors, which will no longer be involved with the publishing operation, has been composed primarily of ISU faculty. The future of ISU Press has been under study by the board this year, due to the need to update facilities, equipment and technological capabilities.
"We look forward to working closely with Iowa State University, its faculty and contributing to the very successful economy of the city of Ames, " said Richard Miles, a senior publisher with Blackwell Science.
Iowa State University Press will continue to operate from its Ames headquarters and will keep the ISUP imprint. No change in the number of employees is expected.
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