AU Press now publishing
By Deborah Lilly
Construction of the Wellness Center and the addition of Hardacre Hall are visible signs that Anderson University is growing. But AU is growing in other less obvious but no less significant ways, too. The university recently expanded with a new publishing venture — Anderson University Press.
The 1962 autobiography of the first AU president, Dr. John A. Morrison, bears the publishing name of “Anderson College Press,” but the university didn’t officially establish a publishing arm until the summer of 2000. Only a few years earlier, Anderson College had become Anderson University. “One natural way for a university to show its maturing mission is through the movement from really good teaching to important scholarship that is made available to the wider public through publishing activities,” explains Dr. Barry Callen, university professor of Christian studies. The university’s board of trustees agreed. An Editorial Committee was named by President James Edwards with Callen as founding editor and chair of the committee. Other members of the committee include Tom Bruce, director of University Relations; Trish Janutolo, faculty/periodicals and government documents in Nicholson Library; and Dr. Kevin Radaker, chair of the English Department.
The committee spent its first year completing a series of “founding steps,” including obtaining ISBN numbers, establishing a mission statement, creating publishing priorities, defining working relationships and introducing itself to the college community. “In the middle of all of that, a first manuscript became available,” says Callen. “We approved it and found a way to get some dollars together to make its publishing happen.” Using an outside printer to avoid any unnecessary cost, Ahead of His Times: a Life of George P. Tasker, written by former professor Dr. Douglas E. Welch, was published in April 2001. Coming soon will be at least two significant books — the autobiographies of former AU faculty members Drs. Gustav Jeeninga and James Earl Massey.
The mission of Anderson University Press is to publish “materials designed to inform, enlighten and empower the community of Christian believers generally and the Church of God movement (Anderson) particularly.” Publishing priorities are given to manuscripts illustrating the themes of holiness, wholeness, integrity, unity, inclusiveness and reconciliation.
“There is a place for Anderson University Press that will be somewhat different than what a church publisher would do,” says Callen. But in establishing Anderson University Press, members of the editorial committee worked carefully to create a publishing program that would function in full cooperation with the work of Warner Press and Church of God Ministries. Callen does not foresee the types of books published by Anderson University Press in competition with Warner Press publications. In addition, Warner Press has agreed to serve as the book distributor for Anderson University Press.
The university press and Church of God Ministries do have a common interest in publishing books related to the history and life of the Church of God movement. When approached with a manuscript that would interest both publishers, Callen explains, “We will make the manuscript available to Church of God Ministries, ask them to review it and then inform us whether or not they have interest in being the publisher or co-publisher. We will not proceed until that is clear.”
The university is beginning to build an endowment fund, giving Anderson University Press the security to plan publishing projects two and three years in advance. The press has a Web site at www.anderson.edu/aupress. Through the site, customers can order the university’s most recent publications, along with other titles by university faculty. The site also offers information about mission, priorities and manuscript proposals.
