ADMISSIONS AND STANDARDS
Responsible for evaluating all applications for membership, the work of the Admissions and Standards Committee has been bookended by Introductory membership applications, opening with University of Sussex Press and closing with consideration of Hanover Press. With Sussex’s membership then approved, the committee also recommended a more robust mentoring and tracking process for guiding Introductory members on their path to Affiliate or Regular membership. Lever Press completed that journey this year, and transitioned from Introductory to permanent membership with Board and community approval. As it was a lighter year for new applications, the committee undertook a detailed and long-overdue review of the Association’s membership applications, recommending substantial revisions and modernizations. Reviewed and approved by the AUPresses Board of Directors in March 2024, these changes will be implemented through a new online application form in the second half of 2024.
Christie Henry, Princeton, Chair
Douglas Hildebrand, Alberta
Alexandria Leonard, Princeton
Wendy Queen, Johns Hopkins
John Sherer, North Carolina
Peter Berkery, Central Office Liaison
AUDIT
The Audit Committee provided oversight to the conduct of the Association’s annual financial audit in collaboration with the AUPresses Director of Operations. Due to accounting industry resource issues, previous year audits were not finalized. Specific charges of the committee for the year included working with the independent accounting firm (SAX, LLP/formerly Schall & Ashenfarb) to review procedures, answer questions, and receive the audit report; review the final audit report, following up with the accounting firm as necessary; report annually to the Board (at its meeting following the conclusion of the audit) and the membership (at the Annual Business Meeting) on the audit’s outcome. The committee is also recommending preparation of an RFP for a new audit firm next year’s committee and preparation of a clear timeline of events in relation to the process.
Saleem Dhamee, Chicago, Chair
Alexandria Leonard, Princeton
Tara Cyphers, Ohio State
Kim Miller, Central Office Liaison
NOMINATING
The Nominating Committee solicited and evaluated nominations from the membership for candidates for the 2024-25 Board of Directors in late 2023 and early 2024. The Committee drew from a robust number of nominees, some put forward as a result of the formal call for nominations, others proposed by members of the Board and the prior Nominating Committee.
The committee’s slate of nominees, including a President-Elect and a Treasurer-Elect, and three Directors-at-Large, was approved by the current Board at their March 2024 meeting and will be presented for ratification by AUPresses members at the May 22, 2024 Annual Business Meeting. Building on prior work, the committee attempted to assess the composition of the Board as it relates both to the diversity of our membership and to our call to create a more equitable ecosystem—focusing on the broadest possible elements of representation: race/ethnicity, gender, geography, professional background, and press size, among others. While a board of fourteen members in any single year cannot represent fully the broad diversity of our community in any single year, this year’s nominees, when added to the current roster of returning members, bring an increased breadth of perspective to the board’s deliberations.
Lisa Bayer, Georgia, Chair
Anthony Cond, Liverpool
Colleen Lanick, Harvard
Rachael Levay, Colorado
Amy Liu, Oklahoma
Angelica Lopez-Torres, Texas
Wendy Queen, Project MUSE
Brian Roach, Catholic
Peter Berkery, Central Office Liaison