Jennifer Crewe Appointed President and Director of Columbia University Press

We are very excited to announce that Jennifer Crewe has been appointed president and director of Columbia University Press! Here is the official press release from Columbia University:

Columbia University Provost John H. Coatsworth has appointed Jennifer Crewe as president and director of Columbia University Press. Crewe has served as interim director for the past nine months and has worked at the Press for three decades.

“Jennifer’s notable strengths as an editor and administrator, as well as her deep understanding of the Press’ history, made her the clear choice of the faculty-led search committee,” said Coatsworth. “She has taken steps to increase the reach, visibility and effectiveness of the Press, developed new strategies to expand capacity and improve book schedules, and negotiated an agreement for the Press to distribute Woodrow Wilson Center books.”

Crewe earned her master of fine arts degree from Columbia’s School of the Arts and worked at the Press during and immediately after graduate school. After working in the commercial college textbook publishing industry, she returned to the Press 28 years ago, starting as an acquisitions editor. As editorial director, Crewe hired and trained acquisitions editors who have nurtured close ties to and created excellent publication programs with academic departments and centers at Columbia.

She is active in the wider world of publishing and academia, having served on the board of the Association of American University Presses and the Executive Council of the Modern Language Association, and currently serving on the Executive Council of the Professional and Scholarly Division of the Association of American Publishers. She is the first woman director of an Ivy League university press.

“I am passionate about Columbia University Press and am thrilled to have the opportunity to lead the Press as we tackle the challenges scholarly publishing faces in the coming years,” Crewe said. “I plan to build on our already distinguished programs and to create exciting new publishing opportunities in close consultation with the Columbia faculty and administration.”

“Jennifer’s background provides her with a close connection to Columbia,” said Coatsworth. “As Columbia University Press faces the ongoing revolution in information and communications technology, Jennifer is well placed to navigate those challenges while addressing the needs of the scholarly community.”