UW News

November 2, 2011

Nicole Mitchell named new director at University of Washington Press

UW News

Nicole Mitchell, director of the University of Georgia Press, has been named the new director of the University of Washington Press, succeeding Pat Soden, who has served as its director since 1996. Mitchell will assume her new position in January 2012.

Nicole Mitchell

Nicole MitchellGeorgia Magazine

“Nicole is an incredibly talented leader and manager, and I am delighted that she is joining us,” says Gerald Baldasty, dean of the UW Graduate School, which houses the press within the University system. “We are deeply impressed by her success throughout her career, and particularly at Georgia, and in her very analytical and creative approach to the challenges that university presses face today.”

Mitchell launched her career in scholarly publishing at Cambridge University Press in 1983, where she gained experience in acquisitions, copy editing, production, and marketing. Starting as an assistant editor at the University of Alabama Press in 1988, she soon became the press’s first full-time acquiring editor and was named director in 1996. In her 12 years at Alabama, she focused the press’s lists and increased sales by 50 percent and title output by 25 percent.

During her decade-long tenure as director of the University of Georgia Press, Mitchell and her staff developed 10 new book series, recruited the press’s first fundraising board, hired the press’s first director of development, and initiated the first digital publishing and e-marketing programs in Georgia’s history. Additionally Mitchell developed numerous partnerships with state, regional, and national organizations and worked with two other university presses and press staff to secure a $648,000 grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for a collaborative series entitled Early American Places.

“I am honored and delighted to be joining the University of Washington Press,” Mitchell says. “I have long admired the quality and diversity of Washington’s publications and was greatly impressed with the strong support for the Press both at UW and within the community. I look forward to working with the Press’s dedicated, caring, and talented staff as we build upon Pat Soden’s impressive legacy and take the press in new directions.”