Inside Iowa State: Iowa State University

January 16, 2004

ISU Press has a new name

by Linda Charles
As part of a merger that began almost four years ago, ISU Press recently was renamed Blackwell Publishing.

In 2000, ISU Press merged with Blackwell Science, an independent scientific and technical publisher based in Oxford, England, and the world's largest publisher for academic and professional societies.

Profits from the merger ($2.2 million) were placed in an endowment to provide support for faculty to publish scholarly and artistic works in appropriate media. The endowment is administered through the research administration office by a publication endowment committee.

ISU Press was founded in 1934. Although it was affiliated with Iowa State University, it received no state funding. The need to update facilities, equipment and technological capabilities led to the merger. The two companies had worked together for several years in veterinary, agriculture and other publishing areas.

Blackwell Publishing will remain at 2121 State Ave. in Ames.