The director of the Duke Press resigned Monday, 10 days after the University revealed the press needed subsidies of almost a third of a million dollars last year.
The University announced yesterday that Stephen Cohn, an associate director at the press, was named to the new position of director of publishing operations by Provost Thomas Langford.
Cohn replaces Lawrence Malley, who resigned as director Monday after the University was forced to give a total of $316,000 to cover the press' losses. That was $261,000 more than the university had budgeted.
The press publishes about 70 books and 23 journals, mostly on academic topics, each year.
Cohn will be responsible for the financial operation of the press and is charged with reducing its dependence on University subsidies.
Until an executive editor in charge of the press is selected, he also will serve as the chief editor.
Cohn, who has been with the press since 1985, has overseen a fourfold increase in revenue from the journals division. The press now publishes 23 different journals, up from seven when he arrived.
The press likely will continue to suffer substantial losses in the short term, Cohn said. "I think it's going to be very difficult for [improvement] to happen immediately."
The staff of the press has been meeting regularly for the last six weeks with a committee headed by Jim Roberts, assistant provost for financial affairs, to re-organize the press' management, Langford said.
Cohn said he hopes to present a five-year long-range plan for the press by the end of December.
Langford said that despite the losses, the University will not shut down the press. Most University presses receive some subsidy.
"I have confidence from my conversations with the provost that the University will support the press until the press can support itself," Cohn said.
Malley, who had been director of the press for about three years, brought in new editors for the different departments and expanded its book division to cover a much broader academic field, Cohn said.
"Editorially, he's led us well," Langford said. However, the press needed a leadership team more capable of managing finances to try to stem the flow of red ink, he said.
The press was unable to adjust to the financial challenges wrought by Malley's more expansive outlook, Cohn said.
Malley could not be reached for comment.
The press' losses stemmed in part from the stagnant state of the economy, which means universities can afford to purchase fewer books and journals.
Typically, university libraries buy many of their books in May and June. However, that book-buying surge did not occur this year, Langford said.
The spiraling cost of books and journals has also hurt. In 1992, major research libraries purchased 100,000 fewer books than in 1991 but paid over $300,000 more for them, said Connie McCarthy, associate University librarian, citing figures collected by the Association of Research Libraries.
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