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Duke University Press

Logo: Duke University Press, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons3

University press

Duke University Press is an American academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 Duke University Press was formally established.2 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1921Founded1
  • HeadquartersDurham1
  • Websitedukeupress.edu
  • Legal formsocietà a responsabilità limitata1

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Duke University Press is an American academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 Duke University Press was formally established. Ernest Seeman became its first director, followed by Henry Dwyer (1929–1944), W.T. LaPrade (1944–1951), Ashbel Brice (1951–1981), Richard Rowson (1981–1990), Larry Malley (1990–1993), Stanley Fish and Steve Cohn (1994–1998), Steve Cohn (1998–2019). As of 2020, Dean Smith was the director of the press.2

Corporate structure

Duke University Press is part of a group headed by Duke University. 25 entities, 1 country on record. Switch between the flow chart and the network, and select any entity to see its details.

  • Duke University Durham, North Carolina, United States
    • Duke University Press Durham
      • Duke University Press/HongKong University Press Subsidiary · United States
    • Duke Corporate Education Subsidiary · Durham
    • Center for Documentary Studies Subsidiary · United States
    • Center for Spirituality, Theology and Health, Duke University Subsidiary · United States
    • David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library Subsidiary · Durham, United States
    • Duke Clinical Research Institute Subsidiary · Durham, United States
    • Duke Divinity School Subsidiary · Durham, United States
    • Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University Subsidiary · United States
    • Duke Lemur Center Subsidiary · Durham, United States
    • Duke University Center for International Studies Subsidiary · Durham, United States
    • Duke University Human Vaccine Institute Subsidiary · United States
    • Duke University Music Library Subsidiary · United States
    • Duke University School of Law Subsidiary · Durham, United States
    • Duke University School of Medicine Subsidiary · Durham, United States
    • Fuqua School of Business Subsidiary · Durham, United States
    • John Hope Franklin Center for Interdisciplinary and International Studies Subsidiary
    • John Hope Franklin Research Center, Duke University Subsidiary · United States
    • John W. Hartman Center, Duke University Subsidiary · United States
    • Kenan Institute for Ethics Subsidiary
    • Sallie Bingham Center, Duke University Subsidiary · United States
    • Sanford School of Public Policy Subsidiary · United States
    • Tisch Brain Tumor Center Subsidiary · United States
    • Trinity College of Arts and Sciences Subsidiary · United States
    • Cameron Indoor Stadium Owned · Durham, United States
    • Card Gymnasium Owned · Durham, United States
    • and 7 more

Built from parent and subsidiary links from GLEIF, the Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (CC0); subsidiaries, stakes and holdings from Wikidata (CC0). Each entity in the chart links to its source.

What it owns

What Duke University Press reports owning in its annual reports to the SEC: buildings, land and equipment, real estate and locations, investments, intangible assets and inventory, at the end of its latest fiscal year and a year before.

Stakes and holdings (Wikidata)

  • Duke University Press/HongKong University Press

Things Wikidata records the company as owning, with the share when stated.1

The story

The press was founded in 1921 as Trinity College Press with William T. Laprade as its first director. Following a restructuring and expansion, the name was changed to "Duke University Press" in 1926 with William K. Boyd taking over as director.

Duke University Press founded the first non-medical peer-reviewed journal on transgender studies, Transgender Studies Quarterly, in 2014.

ARTnews named Duke University Press to its 2021 Deciders list, saying "Many a university press publishes worthy books about art—but none engages the subject and all it can mean quite like Duke University Press." In 2022, Amsterdam news stated, "Duke University Press is a leading academic publisher that has been pushing the envelope in Black non-fiction for the past decade. Their catalog becomes more robust each year by choosing Black thinkers who are ahead of the curve and experts in their fields."

In February 2021, Duke University Press announced the formation of the Scholarly Publishing Collective, a partnership with nonprofit scholarly journal publishers and societies to provide journal services including subscription management, fulfillment, hosting, and institutional marketing and sales.

From Wikipedia’s article on Duke University Press, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4

Subsidiaries and ownership

Parent company

Also owns

  • Duke University Press/HongKong University Press

From Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 1921Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

  1. 1
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