FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Jason Weidemann succeeds Richard Morrison

Press Release Date: 2014-08-01T05:00:00+00:00

Minneapolis—University of Minnesota Press Director Douglas Armato has named senior editor Jason Weidemann as the new Editorial Director of the Press, succeeding Richard Morrison, who left after fifteen years at Minnesota to become the Editorial Director at Fordham University Press last month.

Weidemann, who started as a student worker in the Marketing Department in 2000, has been an Editor at the Press since 2005 and a Senior Editor since 2011, in which roles he has dramatically strengthened Minnesota's programs in Anthropology, Geography, Sociology, Native Studies, and Asian Studies. In 2013, he joined the Press's management team, adding to his portfolio editorial responsibility for the journals program. 

Weidemann holds a Bachelor of Arts in English and Cultural Studies from the University of Minnesota. He also worked as a Journals Marketing Assistant for Sage Publications, London.

"Jason has the intellectual curiosity and restlessness I associate with all great acquiring editors and we've seen that at work again and again in the strong lists he has developed for us over the past decade. I'm really looking forward to seeing those same qualities at work in guiding the future of the Minnesota list as a whole,” said Armato.

Weidemann adds, “I am thrilled and honored to take on this new role at the University of Minnesota Press. My central goal will be to ensure that the editorial program continues to push the boundaries of scholarship in both the humanities and social sciences. At the same time, I am excited to play a role in strengthening our position as a leading publisher for the region. The landscape of scholarly publishing is rapidly changing, and I want the Press and our expertise to play a role in leading these changes while continuing to help authors strengthen and transform their work to reach audiences across disciplines and beyond the academy.”

Danielle Kasprzak has been promoted to Humanities Editor. As the first woman to hold the Humanities Editor position in the Press’s history, she will assume editorial responsibility for most of the fields previously covered by Richard Morrison, notably Cultural and Literary Studies, Gender Studies, Ethnic Studies, Disability Studies, and Queer Studies. Kasprzak joined the Press in 2008 as an Editorial Assistant and, in 2012, became Associate Editor with responsibility for Cinema and Media Studies. She is also the editor for Minnesota's Forerunners: Ideas First ebook initiative.

Acquisitions Editor Pieter Martin has been promoted to Senior Editor. Already responsible for dynamic lists in Architecture and Design, Urban Studies, Political Science, and Education, Martin will add to his responsibilities Legal Studies and additional areas of the Social Science list, as well as broadening his editorial activity in Art History.

Anne Carter will move into the Acquisitions Department as Editorial Assistant. Carter previously provided support for the journals and fundraising programs at the Press.