The University of Louisiana at Lafayette Press has earned membership in an international community of scholarly publishers.
UL Press is one of two members the Association of University Presses designated this year. The other: the Library of Congress Publishing Office.
UL Lafayette’s Center for Louisiana Studies oversees UL Press. Dr. Joshua Caffery, the center’s director, said membership in AUPresses will “help UL Press evolve by putting us into dialogue with peer institutions as well as the world’s largest academic publishers.”
“UL Press has grown and thrived in a really dynamic time for university presses, and we believe AUPresses will help provide a framework for us to continue to grow. Membership in this global community of scholarly publishers is an important recognition of the quality and importance of the work we do.”
AUPresses has 157 members in 17 countries. Founded in 1937, it supports the highest caliber of research-based scholarship through cooperative marketing, research and data collection, professional development and education opportunities and public advocacy.
The organization has three membership categories. UL Press is designated an introductory member but can advance to affiliate, then regular membership as it meets certain staffing, quality and publication benchmarks, said Peter Berkery, executive director of AUPresses.
“We look forward not only to engaging press staff as the newest members in our global professional community but also to supporting them as they continue to grow the press’ estimable list of peer-reviewed, scholarly monographs and general-interest titles related to Louisiana history and culture,” Berkery said.
The Center for Louisiana Studies and UL Press are divisions of the College of Liberal Arts at UL Lafayette.
Dr. Jordan Kellman, the college’s dean, called UL Press “the world leader in publishing scholarship on Louisiana since the center’s founding in 1973.”
“Being recognized alongside the Library of Congress as a member of the Association of University Presses acknowledges the outstanding work the press has done for nearly 50 years in bringing understanding of all aspects of Louisiana to a wide audience while maintaining the highest publishing and scholarly standards,” Kellman said.
A catalogue of UL Press titles is available here. Find more information about the Center for Louisiana Studies here.
Photo caption: A sample of titles from UL Press shows the publisher’s commitment to scholarship that explores and explains Louisiana’s culture and history. (Photo credit: Doug Dugas / University of Louisiana at Lafayette)