The provost has named a controversial faculty member, who has drawn national attention to the University, as executive director of the financially ailing Duke Press.
Stanley Fish, professor of English and law and immediate past chair of the English department, was named to the new post by Provost Thomas Langford. His term lasts five years.
"[Fish] has wide experience with and a solid commitment to academic publishing, and a firm belief in the potential of university presses," said Langford, the University's chief academic officer, in a statement. "I believe he is the best person to lead the Duke Press."
As executive director, Fish will be responsible for long-range planning and give "intellectual guidance," said Steve Cohn, director of publishing operations. Fish also plans to continue teaching.
Cohn has headed the press since Aug. 28, when Duke Press director Lawrence Malley resigned after the University revealed the press needed $316,000 in subsidies last year, $261,000 more in subsidies than was budgeted.
For the time being, the provost's office will continue to subsidize the press. The provost has budgeted a $300,000 subsidy for this fiscal year, Cohn said.
Within four years, the press' administration should know to what extent the University will be able to reduce its subsidy, Fish said.
Because of his national name recognition, Fish said he will be able to contact premier authors and book reviewers who could enhance the press' prominence.
"I hope as a controversial figure, he brings controversial first-rate manuscripts to the Duke Press," said Wallace Jackson, chair of the English department.
Fish will also play a role in helping Duke Press revamp its administrative infrastructure, which he said has changed little from the days when it was a small operation publishing only 10 to 12 books yearly. Cohn will continue to be responsible for the day-to-day operation of the press and its finances.
Duke Press each year publishes about 70 books and 23 journals, mostly on academic topics.
The campus became embroiled in controversy in 1990 because of Fish's bitter dispute with James David Barber, James B. Duke professor of political science, about the formation of a local chapter of the National Association of Scholars.
Fish described the NAS, which calls for a return to a traditional Western curriculum, as "racist, sexist and homophobic," in a letter to The Chronicle in September 1990. He also supported banning members of the Duke Association of Scholars, the local chapter that Barber helped found, from serving on "key University committees."
Upon hearing of Fish's appointment as executive director, Barber said, "It is completely wrong." He declined to comment further.
George Wright, chair of the African-American Studies program and chair of a committee that reviewed Duke Press, said Fish's status as a controversial figure probably did not influence the decision to appoint him.
"I think, to their credit, the president and provost weren't bothered by the controversy surrounding Fish, but instead based their decision on their interaction with him," Wright said.
Langford could not be reached for comment, and President Nan Keohane declined to comment Monday afternoon.
Fish said he does not think the controversy will hinder his ability to do his job. "The possible negatives, if they emerge, will be short-term," he said.
Fish's colleagues in the English department said they were confident that Duke Press made a good choice.
"If he runs the press the way he ran the department, it'll be efficient and innovative and you'll see interesting things coming out of it," said Victor Strandberg, professor of English.
Fish came to the University in 1985 and was made chair of the English department the following year. He helped bring the department into nationally prominence as well as make it into one of the most controversial departments at the University.
He is best known for such influential works as "Surprised by Sin: The Reader in `Paradise Lost,"' the first book-length study to focus on the reader's experience of a text.
A Milton scholar, Fish was a leader in the field of reader-response criticism, which sees the meaning of a text not in the words themselves but in how the reader responds and interprets them.
During the last year, Fish has been seriously considered for posts at two others schools.
At the University of Indiana, he was one of eight finalists for the position of vice chancellor for academic affairs and dean of the faculties. Fish was also a finalist for the presidency at the State University of New York at Purchase.
The president and the provost selected Fish after apparently deciding not to launch a national search for a director who would be responsible for the entire operation.
Wright said his committee had recommended that the University either appoint a traditional director or select a distinguished faculty member to work closely with other people on the press.
The University also announced another administrative change. Reynolds Smith, a senior editor, has been named executive editor of the press. He will work closely with Fish in providing guidance to the press' editorial work.
Get The Chronicle straight to your inbox
Signup for our weekly newsletter. Cancel at any time.