Niko Pfund has been appointed director of Yale University Press. He will join the publisher from Oxford University Press (OUP) on 1st July, succeeding John Donatich, who last year announced plans to retire having led the press since 2003.
The university press has offices in New Haven and London, publishing approximately 400 books across a range of subjects, including science, economics and political science, as well as history, religion, literature, art and architecture.
“We have found in Niko a leader who prizes the time-honoured tenets of rigorous scholarship and bold, future-oriented thinking in equal measure,” said president of Yale Univeristy Maurie McInnis in an announcement to members of the Yale community. “He brings with him an immersive understanding of scholarly publishing and serious non-fiction as well as a proven track record, with experience in broadening the mandate of an academic press while abiding closely by its vital mission of contributing to a global understanding of human affairs.”
Pfund has held a variety of roles at OUP over the last two decades and currently serves as its global academic publisher and president of its US division. He has overseen staff across two offices in America, pursued a range of partnerships, expanded the press’ distribution capabilities and supported its digital growth, according to McInnis. He was previously director and editor-in-chief of New York University Press.
McInnis noted that Pfund has also served as a mentor in university publishing programmes at Oxford, Columbia, Pace, Amherst College and the Association of University Presses, as well as being an active member of various boards, including the governing board of Stanford University Press.
“Niko joins us at a time when our ambitions for Yale University Press are growing, as we seek to build on the strong groundwork [laid by] John Donatich,” McInnis added.
Susan Gibbons, Yale’s vice-provost for collections and scholarly communication and chief of staff to the president, said Pfund’s “earned reputation and deep experience as a publisher will be an incredible asset” to the press.
Pfund added: “Under John Donatich’s leadership these past 22 years, Yale University Press has consolidated its standing as one of our most influential university presses. It is a great privilege to join this impressive institution, and I look forward to meeting my new colleagues and with members of the Yale community, and to all that lies ahead.”
