Established in 1937, AAUP promotes the work and influence of university presses, provides cooperative marketing opportunities, and helps its 128 member presses fulfill their common commitments to scholarship, the academy and society.

The president of AAUP serves as a spokesperson for and as an advocate of university presses and works with the executive director and board of directors to set the direction and immediate goals of the organization.

“I’m thrilled for Alex, for Temple University Press, and for the whole university,” said Lisa Staiano-Coico, provost and senior vice president for academic affairs. “TUP is an essential part of Temple's academic life, and we are particularly proud to play a leadership role on a national level through Alex’s AAUP presidency.”

Drawn to scholarly publishing for the way it uniquely combined interests in academic scholarship and business, Holzman embarked on his university press career at Ohio State University in 1986. There he helped to expand the press’s list from 13 titles annually to about 30 per year. Later, as an editor at Cambridge University Press, he developed lists in political science, criminology and the history of science and medicine, and helped with journals acquisitions.

Holzman came to Temple University Press in 2003, and as director has increased the press’s title output and development efforts and become an active participant in the larger university community. He frequently advises faculty and library staff on scholarly publishing topics.

Under Holzman’s direction, TUP is currently riding a wave of success in which the press has garnered numerous awards and received several grants and prizes. For two consecutive years, in 2005 and 2006, three of TUP’s titles were named by Choice magazine as “Outstanding Academic Titles” for the year. Last spring, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation awarded TUP two grants to partner with other university presses in the production and marketing of books focusing on American literatures and in ethnomusicology.

“In terms of the number of titles we publish and the subsequent awards we receive, we are ahead of the curve,” said Holzman.

In his inaugural speech to AAUP members in Montréal, Holzman addressed some of the major concerns facing academic scholarly publishers: open-access publishing and copyright laws.

As the transition to electronic publishing changes the business model for university presses, Holzman is confident that the best way to tackle the emerging issues is with an open mind.

“As units of the university, we need to be at the center of discussions involving scholarly communication and we must be willing to be flexible and reinvent ourselves,” Holzman said.