Fordham University Press (FUP) has announced that Richard Morrison will become the new editorial director of the Press and that Thomas Lay has been promoted to editor. Together they will honor, sustain, and affirm the editorial legacy of the late Helen Tartar.
Richard Morrison will replace the late Helen Tartar as the editorial director of Fordham University Press.
Photo courtesy of Richard Morrison
Morrison has a deep commitment to and extensive experience in scholarly publishing, including editorial positions at Duke University Press and the University of Minnesota Press. During his six years at Duke he helped to build a strong program in anthropology, cinema and media studies, and literary and cultural studies. In his most recent role as editorial director at Minnesota, he established and maintained a thriving program specializing in American Studies, literary and cultural studies, philosophy, and theory. While at Minnesota he has worked closely with the director and staff on short- and long-term strategic planning, including budgets, a new in-house database, and ebook initiatives.
Morrison holds a Master of Fine Arts in Writing from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Florida. He was also a contributing writer to the Independent Weekly in Durham, North Carolina.
“I am confident that Richard’s background and deep involvement in academic publishing will make him well suited to maintain FUP’s editorial vision and deep commitment to humanities publishing while signing books in new areas that complement our existing programs,” said Fredric Nachbaur, director of FUP. “He is sure to be welcomed by the devoted communities of authors and readers that we have developed over the past decade. I am so excited to have him join the Fordham team.”
“I am excited to join the team at Fordham University Press, and to have this opportunity to continue the work of Helen Tartar in making Fordham a leading publisher of innovative and rigorous scholarship in the humanities and social sciences,” Morrison said. “I look forward to honoring her legacy of nurturing and cultivating the work of emerging and eminent scholars, and to building upon Fordham’s strengths while diversifying its list. Keeping the intellectual vision of each author at the center of our collective mission has never been more important.”
Tom Lay, who has worked for eight years at Fordham University Press in various editorial capacities and helped to establish its reputation as a leading scholarly press, has been appointed editor at Fordham University Press. Morrison and Lay will both be serving as acquisitions editors, with an eye to expanding well-established programs the Press currently serves, like religion, philosophy, political theory, literary studies, science studies, and anthropology, as well as some new complementary lists.
“Richard and Tom have proven themselves to be passionate advocates for academic publishing and I look forward to working with them on developing a vibrant, critical, and creative publishing future for the humanities and across academic disciplines,” Nachbaur said.
Morrison succeeds Helen Tartar, who died on March 3. As the Press’s Editorial Director since 2003, Tartar helped to build Fordham into a major force in humanities publishing.
Morrison will start at Fordham on July 21, 2014
To see the press release in FUP’s blog, Fordham Impressions, click here.
