MEDIEVAL INSTITUTE PUBLICATIONS SEEKS MANAGING EDITOR

Western Michigan University’s Medieval Institute is seeking a managing editor / director for its publishing arm, Medieval Institute Publications. This might be something an E-Sylum reader would be interested in, either for their own career path or for a friend. The icing on the cake: the position is located in historic Kalamazoo, home of award-winning numismatologist Joel Orosz! Here’s the job description:

Medieval Institute Publications, the publishing arm of the Medieval Institute of Western Michigan University, seeks an experienced scholarly publishing professional to fill the position of managing editor/director. The ME/DI is responsible for the administration and development of all aspects of our publishing operation, including acquisitions and list development, budgeting, marketing, production, promotion, and staff management. S/he is a senior administrative officer of Western Michigan University and reports to the Director of the Medieval Institute.

The ME/DI is expected to enhance the national and international reputation of Medieval Institute Publications, to expand our strong and diverse list in Medieval Studies, and to lead in the use of innovative information technologies and electronic publishing. S/he will lead a staff of three full-time professionals (production editor/designer, editor/Congress book exhibit coordinator, and order fulfillment manager) as well as graduate student assistants and independent contractors, to represent Medieval Institute Publications both within the university and externally, and to supervise the business operations of a small, specialized publisher.

The managing editor must have excellent communications skills, experience in the field of Medieval Studies, a minimum of seven years of experience in scholarly publishing (including experience in electronic publishing), and an advanced degree in the humanities.

Western Michigan University received a huge Cistercian library back in the 1960s; founded the medieval Institute in 1973; and has hosted the annual International Congress of Medieval Studies meetings ever since. A number of the sessions every year are numismatic in nature, and the American Numismatic Society sends a contingent to Kalamazoo without fail. When I've attended, I've mainly pretended that I understand the abstruse issues around medieval coinage, but those who know what they are doing find these presentations to be top-of-the-line.

WMU is a dynamic and growing university of 25,000 students, located cheek-by-jowl with my alma mater, Kalamazoo College (1800 students), one of America's premier liberal arts colleges. Kalamazoo is obviously a college town, but it is also a medical mecca, being the headquarters of the Fortune 500 companies like Upjohn (now a major manufacturing and research hub of Pfizer), and Stryker Corporation, maker of medical devices. These tie in nicely with Western's med school and with two major medical centers, Bronson and Borgess, both nationally ranked in key specialties, such as obstetrics and cardiology.

Kalamazoo is nationally recognized for the Kalamazoo Promise, which guarantees four years of college tuition to all graduates of the Kalamazoo Public Schools. Kalamazoo. population in about 80,000, while another 40,000 live in its largest suburb, Portage. Finally, Kalamazoo's location on I-94 is almost exactly halfway between Chicago and Detroit--2.5 hours away from either the Loop to the west or from Comerica Park to the east, where you can watch the Tiger annual postseason collapse. The Tigers could have signed, many years ago, a young prospect from Kalamazoo named Derek Jeter, but nooooo....

To vist the Western Michigan University web site, see: www.wmich.edu

Wayne Homren, Editor