Director, JHU Press (JHU Press)

Johns Hopkins University has retained Jack Farrell & Associates to support the search for Director of the Johns Hopkins University Press. Please send recommendations, nominations, and questions, in confidence, to Jack Farrell: jack@jackfarrell.com. The search will continue until the Director is appointed, but in order to receive the most thorough consideration, candidates should submit their materials (c.v. and cover letter as separate PDF files) as soon as possible. The University intends to make this appointment effective no later than February 1, 2027.

The Johns Hopkins University seeks an exceptional leader to serve as the next Director of the Johns Hopkins University Press (JHU Press). This is a remarkable opportunity to lead one of the world's most distinguished and influential university presses at a pivotal moment in scholarly publishing.

The incoming Director will guide JHU Press through an era of profound transformation in academic publishing, marked by rapid advances in digital technologies, the evolution of open access models, the rise of generative artificial intelligence, and shifting economic dynamics. This leader will steward a storied institution while driving innovation across books, journals, digital aggregation platforms, and service operations that collectively serve the global scholarly community.

The ideal candidate will combine deep publishing expertise with strategic vision, financial acumen, and technological fluency. This leader will be committed to advancing trusted scholarship and connecting people to evidence-based knowledge—core to the Press's mission and Johns Hopkins University's broader commitment to bringing the benefits of discovery to the world. The role offers the opportunity to shape the future of scholarly communication while working with world-class faculty, accomplished staff, and a supportive university administration committed to the Press's continued excellence and growth.

About The Johns Hopkins University Press

Established in 1878—just two years after the university's founding—the JHU Press remains the oldest continuously operating university press in the United States and is among the world's largest. The Press operates from its historic home in Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood, a renovated former church building that has housed its operations since 1993.

The JHU Press publishes award-winning titles across humanities, arts, physical, life, and medical sciences, public health, and social sciences, and consumer health that reach a worldwide audience of scholars, students, and discerning readers. Through books, journals, and digital projects such as The Complete Prose of T.S. Eliot and the Johns Hopkins Guide to Literary Theory and Criticism, the Press fulfills the mandate of Daniel Coit Gilman, Johns Hopkins' first president, to broadly disseminate the expertise of leading scholars, scientists and physicians, delivering new knowledge in innovative and effective ways.

The JHU Press is distinguished not only by its editorial programs but also by its leadership in digital dissemination and services supporting the broader system of scholarly communication. With a staff of 130 professionals and an operating budget of about $50 million, the Press operates multiple integrated divisions that together form one of the most comprehensive scholarly publishing operations in North America.

Books Division

With critically acclaimed titles in many subject areas, the JHU Press Books Division publishes approximately 120 new books each year and maintains a backlist exceeding 4,000 titles. Notable books include works that have shaped scholarly discourse and reached general audiences: Nancy Mace’s and Peter Rabin’s The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Care for People with Alzheimer Disease, Other Dementias, and Memory Loss; Jacques Derrida’s (translated by Gayatri Chakravorty Spivak) Of Grammatology, Fiftieth Anniversary Edition; George A. Feldhammer, et al.’s Mammalogy: Adaptation, Diversity, Ecology; Jos Antonio Bowen’s and C. Edward Watson’s Teaching with AI: A Practical Guide to a New Era of Human Learning, Second Edition.

With robust global reach, the Books Division connects Johns Hopkins authors to scholars, experts, and educational and research institutions around the world. The division continues to navigate the evolving landscape of academic book publishing, balancing traditional scholarly monographs with trade books, innovative digital formats, open access models, and evolving licensing opportunities in AI models.

Journals Division

Home to the largest journal publication program of any U.S. university press, the Journals Division publishes 115 journals in arts and humanities, technology and medicine, higher education, history, political science, and library science. The division also manages membership services for more than 20 scholarly and professional associations and societies.

The division owns 35 of the 115 journals and provides comprehensive editing, design, production, marketing, sales, digital and print delivery, and other services for scholarly societies, professional associations, other non-profit organizations, and journal editors.

Project MUSE

Established in 1995 as a collaboration between JHU Press and JHU’s Sheridan Libraries, Project MUSE has become a leading platform for digital scholarly content across the humanities, arts, and social sciences. The platform provides access to more than 800 journals and 100,000 books from nearly 400 publishers to libraries worldwide.

Operating as a nonprofit aggregator, MUSE has distinguished itself through academy-owned publishing, fair pricing and revenue sharing models, and technological innovation. Recent initiatives include,

• Subscribe to Open (S2O): Launched in 2025, involving more than 100 journals from 28 publishers, enabling equitable open access publication without article processing charges.
• Hosted Journals Program: Providing production, technology, and metadata services for scholarly societies and smaller publishers.
• Integrated Collections: Offering subscription packages and seamless discovery across 100,000+ books and 800+ journals.

BioOne

JHU Press recently announced acquiring BioOne, an aggregation of non-profit digital journals and books in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences. While not a separate division of JHU Press and not yet part of Project MUSE, once integrated into JHU Press, BioOne will be a stand-alone product and continue to be marketed and sold to libraries worldwide. The final closing is scheduled for later this summer with integration of operations and staff occurring throughout this calendar year.

Hopkins Fulfillment Services

For over 40 years, Hopkins Fulfillment Services (HFS) has provided distribution infrastructure for 16 distinguished university presses and nonprofit institutions. HFS offers order processing, warehousing, fulfillment services, digital delivery, and sales representation to clients including SUNY Press, Indiana University Press, Georgetown University Press, University of Washington Press, and others.

This division generates consistent revenue while supporting the broader scholarly publishing ecosystem, enabling smaller presses to maintain professional distribution without significant capital investment.

Governance, Support and Space

The Director reports to the Provost, with guidance from a faculty editorial board and an advisory board (more below).

The Director leads a senior management team overseeing the Press's integrated divisions and approximately 130 staff members working across editorial, production, marketing, sales, business operations, culture and inclusion, and technology functions. The Press is headquartered in a distinctive renovated church building in Baltimore's Charles Village neighborhood, providing dedicated workspace that reflects the organization's historic roots and collaborative culture.

The JHU Press benefits from integration within Johns Hopkins University, including strong support from university leadership, faculty expertise, and connections to the 10 academic divisions, Sheridan Libraries, and other academic units. The Press operates with significant autonomy while having access to university-wide resources.

Hopkins Press Faculty Editorial Board

The Faculty Editorial Board, composed of distinguished Johns Hopkins faculty across disciplines, provides academic guidance, reviews book and journal proposals and manuscripts, and ensures scholarly standards. The Director works closely with the Board to ensure that the Press selects projects that align with the values and mission of JHU.

Hopkins Press Advisory Board

The Advisory Board comprises external leaders from publishing, academia, and libraries who provide strategic counsel on industry trends, business strategy, technology adoption, and organizational development.

Expectation of the Director

The Director must be an accomplished publishing leader with deep expertise in scholarly communication and a demonstrated record of strategic and operational leadership. The Director will advance the Press’s mission, strengthen its financial foundation, and position it for continued relevance in a rapidly evolving publishing environment. Strong preference will be given to candidates with experience leading complex publishing organizations. Exceptional leaders from adjacent sectors—such as digital platforms or large scholarly societies with significant publishing efforts—will also be considered.

Strategic Leadership and Institutional Positioning

• Articulate and execute a clear, forward-looking strategy that builds on the Press’s strengths and aligns with university priorities.

• Anticipate and respond to shifts in scholarly communication, including AI-enabled workflows, open access models, evolving research behaviors, and AI-focused digital discovery and dissemination.

• Identify and cultivate strategic partnerships within Johns Hopkins and across the broader scholarly ecosystem.

• Ensure the Press remains a respected thought leader in the national and global publishing landscape.

Financial Stewardship and Business Development

• Ensure long-term financial sustainability through disciplined budgeting, multi-year planning, and performance management.

• Strengthen and diversify revenue streams across books, journals, Project MUSE, and fulfillment services and through strategic acquisition or other innovative opportunities.

• Balance mission-driven publishing priorities with sound business practices.

• Partner with development leadership to secure philanthropic support for key initiatives.

Organizational Leadership and Stakeholder Engagement

• Lead, mentor, and retain a high-performing, mission-driven staff.

• Foster a culture rooted in dignity, learning, and care that promotes collaboration, accountability, professional growth, job fulfillment, and operational excellence.

• Build strong relationships with faculty, authors, editors, clients, librarians, scholarly societies, publishing partners, and industry leaders.

• Represent the Press effectively in public forums and professional communities.

• Deepen connections between the Press and university academic programs, libraries, and research centers.

Publishing Programs and Platform Oversight

• Provide strategic oversight of the books and journals programs to ensure scholarly impact, audience growth, and financial strength.

• Navigate the evolving economics of print, digital, open access, and emerging AI-enabled distribution models.

• Address sector-wide challenges including research integrity, peer review sustainability, and responsible AI use.

• Guide the continued evolution of Project MUSE and the integration of BioOne to advance Johns Hopkins University Press’s digital publishing portfolio, enhance service to publishers and libraries, and strengthen competitive positioning, operational excellence, and long-term growth.

• Oversee Hopkins Fulfillment Services to ensure operational excellence and evaluate opportunities for growth.

Professional Experience, Qualifications and Preferred Characteristics

• The ideal Director of the JHU Press will have the following professional qualifications and personal characteristics,
• Commitment to publishing peer-reviewed books and journals
• In-depth understanding of the economics of book and journal publishing along with the capacity to adapt to changes in the market
• Knowledge of library services, resources, and workflows
• In-depth knowledge of copyright law, and publishing and distribution contracts; experience in contract development and negotiation
• Excellent oral and written communication skills
• Demonstrated business analytic skills and ability

Publishing and Scholarly Expertise

• Significant senior leadership experience in publishing or closely related sectors.

• Deep understanding of scholarly publishing economics, including revenue models, cost structures, and market dynamics.

• Extensive familiarity and experience with digital publishing platforms, open access models, and emerging technologies shaping the field.

• Demonstrated commitment to peer-reviewed scholarship and knowledge dissemination.

Executive and Financial Leadership

• Proven success leading complex, revenue-generating organizations or business units.

• Demonstrated strength in strategic planning, organizational development, and change leadership.

• Sophisticated financial acumen, including budgeting, forecasting, and performance management.

• Experience balancing mission and margin in a mission-driven and financial-forward enterprise.

Leadership Style and Personal Attributes

• Exceptional communication skills and executive presence.

• Strong relationship-building capabilities across a wide range of stakeholder groups.

• Collaborative leadership style that values transparency and shared accountability.

• Integrity, resilience, and sound judgment in periods of industry disruption.

• Clear commitment to cultivating an environment in which all individuals can thrive.

• Passion for scholarly publishing and belief in the public value of knowledge.

ABOUT THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY

Johns Hopkins was founded as the nation’s first research university on the principle that pursuing big ideas and sharing knowledge make the world a better place. The University has approximately 6,500 faculty, 6,200 undergraduate students, and 17,600 graduate students arrayed across 260 degreed programs at the baccalaureate, master’s, and doctoral levels. Perennially ranked as the nation’s leader in annual research expenditures, the University has consistently achieved this standard through excellent academic leadership, committed faculty and students, innovative international programs, high levels of collegiality, and exceptional interdisciplinary collaboration. The University’s endowment is approximately $10.5 billion. Johns Hopkins is the largest private employer in Baltimore and Maryland and has broad economic, social, and cultural ties to its hometown. Johns Hopkins has an estimated $7.3 billion economic impact in Baltimore and an estimated $15 billion economic impact in Maryland.

Ronald J. Daniels has served as the 14th president of Johns Hopkins University since 2009. Under his leadership, Johns Hopkins continues its preeminence in education, patient care, and innovative discovery, and has continued its more than 40-year span as the recipient of more competitively allocated federal research funding than any other university in the country. During his tenure, Daniels has focused his efforts on several key areas: strengthening interdisciplinary collaboration in research and education, expanding student access and support, enhancing the Hopkins experience for undergraduate and graduate students, deepening the university’s partnerships with its neighbors in Baltimore, and supporting economic and social innovation. These priorities continue to shape the strategic vision for Johns Hopkins as it celebrates its 150th anniversary.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree
• A minimum of 10 years of experience managing a revenue-generating business with a significant-sized staff and a budget greater than $10 million
• Additional education may substitute for required experience, and additional related experience may substitute for required education beyond a high school diploma/graduation equivalent, to the extent permitted by the JHU equivalency formula.

Preferred Qualifications

• MBA or similar Degree
• Experience in commercial, professional or scholarly publishing
• Experience in fundraising and grant application writing

Classified Title: Director, JHU Press  
Role/Level/Range: ADMOFF/01/EX  
Starting Salary Range: Commensurate w/exp. 
Employee group: Full Time 
Schedule: Monday - Friday 8:30am - 5:00pm 
FLSA Status: Exempt 
Location: Hybrid/Homewood Campus  
Department name: Press General Administration   
Personnel area: Academic and Business Centers