Director Named for University of Alabama Press

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Daniel J.J. Ross, director of the University of Nebraska Press since 1995, has been named director of The University of Alabama Press.

Dr. Nancy Barrett, UA vice president for academic affairs and provost, announced the appointment of Ross, who will be the sixth director in the 56-year history of the UA Press, the state’s only academic press. Ross replaces Nicole Mitchell, who had been director since 1995.

Barrett noted Ross’s extensive experience in the university press-publishing arena. “Mr. Ross brings a full range of experience and the depth of knowledge essential to leading the state of Alabama’s only scholarly press,” Barrett said.

Ross has 25 years of university press-publishing experience in acquisitions, editing, marketing, sales, production and administration. He joined the University of Nebraska Press in 1989 and served as history editor and as editor-in-chief before being named director.

Prior to his work at Nebraska, Ross served in various positions at Duke University Press, the UA Press and the University Presses of Florida.

“I am delighted at the prospect of returning to the UA Press. I am most impressed by the eager and ambitious Press staff, their impressive new quarters, and the commitment of the University, both faculty and administration, to furthering the development of the Press,” Ross said.

Ross received his bachelor’s degree in history from Hamilton College in Clinton, N.Y. and an M.A. in history from the University of Florida.

Founded in 1945, the UA Press publishes more than 50 books and two journals each year and maintains an active backlist of 500 titles. The Press has strong lists in southern history, civil rights studies, American religious history, archaeology, American literature, communication, political science and Judaic studies, as well as a regional trade list that offers short fiction and memoir, architecture, photography, folklore and books about nature and the environment. The Press is currently collaborating with the Alabama Humanities Foundation to develop the first Encyclopedia of Alabama.