About Wayne State University Press

The Value of University Presses

WSU Press has a staff of professional book marketers, editors, and designers who are passionate about disseminating great scholarship. We know how to shape and refine books, and we understand the business of bookmaking and bookselling. The press shares the knowledge of its staff with WSU students through its internship program, and it provides would-be publishing professionals a place to learn and work by hiring student assistants. The Press’s relationships with other university units such as the library system and its book club and the Children’s Bridge initiative foster a university-wide scholarly communication system.

University presses publish academics who would not otherwise get published and who would not otherwise receive tenure. Wayne State University Press relies on the university’s faculty for editorial advice and oversight. We offer authors and would-be authors peer-review, a process that enables university-trained scholars to critique and advise other university-trained scholars. The peer-review process facilitates teaching and learning. It facilitates the sharing of ideas, an effort that universities encourage and foster.

Cathy Davidson, vice provost of Duke, told ACLS that university presses should be and be seen as an opportunity for their parent institutions. Wayne State University Press is such an opportunity. Through us, the University associates itself with brave scholarship and rich local history, distinguishes itself as the supporter of a leading publisher of Great Lakes books, Judaica, and African American studies, and extends its name into thousands of homes, schools, and libraries in many countries around the globe.

Read more on the value of university presses, compiled by the AAUP (Association of American University Presses.)