Some exciting news  regarding UNC Press…

AAUP meeting:

Several folks from UNC Press traveled to Philadelphia, PA last weekend for the annual AAUP meeting–Joanna Ruth Marsland, our Director of Development had this to say about the meeting:

“…The sessions focused on “best practices” for the various departments and activities within university presses, and the ones I attended were very good. Of course there were so many that sounded worthwhile and it was difficult to pick and choose which concurrent sessions to attend. One that was particularly informative was an update on the Google Book Search Settlement moderated by Linda Steinman who is a partner with Davis Wright Tremaine. She gave the best overview and explanation of the issues and the suit I have heard. She also laid out some of the options and possible settlements. Before the session started, Peter Givler, former director of AAUP asked all non-AAUP members to leave the room. A Google person, a vendor, and some others sheepishly headed out.”

From the sound of things, there were less people at the meeting, which was to be expected. However the mood was upbeat and attendees seemed enthusiastic about the various sessions and new ideas for how to exist in the ever-changing market.

“As you know, the theme was “Only Connect….” and there were some interesting plenary sessions on connecting with other institutions through collaborations and connecting with readers through new digital technologies… it was very interesting to have people in related fields (librarians, e-vendors) share there thoughts on how faculty and students are accessing information and what the options are,” says Marsland.

In this economic climate, nothing is going to be the same as it was in years past, but overall the AAUP meeting was still exciting, informative and very worthwhile for university presses.

Nortin Hadler, abcnews.com, President Obama:

Diane Sawyer will be interviewing President Obama next Wednesday, July 1 at 10pm to air live on ABC–I know, I know, what does that have to do with UNC Press? Well, our very own UNC Press author, Dr. Nortin Hadler, has been asked to prepare some questions in regards to health care and to be present at the interview should they need to defer to him! We are so excited–Dr. Hadler is definitely the right person for the job. Hadler, author of Stabbed in the Back: Confronting Back Pain in an Overtreated Society and Worried Sick: A Prescription for Health in an Overtreated America, is a regular contributor for abcnews.com. Check out his latest op-ed here. Don’t forget to check out the interview!

-Rose