News Releases

UWI Press Names a New General Manager

For Release Upon Receipt - September 16, 2016

UWI


The UWI Regional Headquarters, Jamaica. 16 September 2016 - Dr Joseph B. Powell has been appointed General Manager to the UWI Press, effective 01 August, 2016. He succeeds Mrs Linda Speth who retired after serving as General Manager for the past 16 years.   

Dr Powell who has been a student and scholar of the Caribbean for over 20 years, has a BSc in Sociology from the College of Charleston, an MA in Anthropology and a PhD in Geography and Anthropology from Louisiana State University.  The UWI Press will benefit from the wealth of experience he brings from a career in scholarly publishing including his serving as senior acquisitions editor at the University of Alabama Press, and as acquisitions editor at Louisiana State University Press. At the University of Alabama Press, Dr Powell managed a number of series including Atlantic Crossings, Caribbean Archaeology and Ethnohistory, Contemporary American Indian Series, and Classics of Southeastern Archaeology. At Louisiana State University Press, Dr Powell’s duties included conceptualizing and planning acquisitions strategy for environmental studies and geography.

Speaking on his new appointment, Dr Powell said: “I am delighted to join the superb staff at the renowned UWI Press and to capitalize on this rare opportunity to combine my publishing experience with my personal scholarly expertise in the African Caribbean diaspora and the Black Atlantic”. While he is looking forward to the Press continuing its work publishing Caribbean books from the English-speaking Caribbean, Dr Powell also expressed excitement about the many potential collaborative opportunities with scholars and publishers in the Spanish-speaking Caribbean, Latin America and North America. On the subject of expanding the Press’ reach he commented: “I hope to increase our presence and visibility in the Association of American University Presses (AAUP), and to acquire more North American-based scholarship on the Caribbean, particularly work by Caribbean diaspora scholars”.

Pro Vice-Chancellor and Principal of The UWI Open Campus Dr Luz Longsworth, who is also the newly appointed Chair of the UWI Press Board weighed in on the new appointment and the institution’s role in producing Caribbean literature. “The Board of the UWI Press is pleased to have Dr Powell join the excellent team at the Press.  We look forward to his leadership in expanding the UWI Press’ reach into new areas and in continuing the outstanding contribution of the Press to Caribbean academic scholarship.”

The UWI community warmly welcomes Dr Powell and anticipates the rollout of a series of innovative initiatives aimed at extending awareness of and access to Caribbean-centric, scholarly literature under his leadership.

 

About the UWI Press

The University of the West Indies Press is a not-for-profit scholarly publisher of books in fourteen academic disciplines. It is particularly well known for its work in Caribbean history, Caribbean cultural studies, Caribbean literature, gender studies, education and political science. Founded in 1992, the Press has over 350 books in print and has 120 of these books available in the Kindle and Kobo stores. Its books are peer-reviewed and approved by an editorial committee composed of local and international scholars. Over the last twenty years the UWI Press has won over eighty international, regional and national book awards for scholarly, editorial and production excellence. 

About The UWI

Since its inception in 1948, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged, regional University with well over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest, most longstanding higher education provider in the Commonwealth Caribbean, with four campuses in Barbados, Jamaica, Trinidad and Tobago, and the Open Campus. The UWI has faculty and students from more than 40 countries and collaborative links with 160 universities globally; it offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Food & Agriculture, Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Science and Technology and Social Sciences. UWI’s seven priority focal areas are linked closely to the priorities identified by CARICOM and take into account such over-arching areas of concern to the region as environmental issues, health and wellness, gender equity and the critical importance of innovation. Website: http://www.uwi.edu/

 

(Please note that the proper name of the university is The University of the West Indies, inclusive of the “The”, hence The UWI.)

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