Peter Kracht Named Director of the Pitt Press

Issue Date: 
January 21, 2013

Peter Kracht has been named director of the University of Pittsburgh Press, where he will be responsible for leading the press as it continues to grow its publishing program, enhance its electronic publishing, and navigate the ever-changing environment of scholarly publishing. Kracht joined the University of Pittsburgh Press in July 2005 as editorial director and undertook additional duties as director of electronic publishing in 2007. On Feb. 1, he will step into his new role as director—which also includes a Universitywide leadership position as a member of the Council of Deans. He succeeds Cynthia Miller, who is retiring after serving as director of the press since 1995.

“The past several years have been very challenging for academic presses. However, the University of Pittsburgh Press has continued to grow in quality and impact, largely because of the strong and imaginative leadership of Cynthia Miller. We are grateful for her distinguished service and excited that the role of director will be assumed by Peter Kracht—a highly accomplished professional who is, in every sense, a very worthy successor,” said Pitt Chancellor Mark A. Nordenberg.

 “Mr. Kracht’s vision for the University of Pittsburgh Press is well matched to our overall academic vision for the University of Pittsburgh,” said Pitt Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor Patricia E. Beeson in announcing Kracht’s appointment as director. “He is committed to building a publishing program that reflects the highest standards of scholarship, enhances the academic reputation of the University, and serves an international community of scholars and students.

”Through Kracht’s leadership, the press has received A. W. Mellon Foundation grants to support a Slavic studies program in collaboration with two partner presses and to launch a publishing program in collaboration with the University’s Department of History and Philosophy of Science and the University’s World History Center. He has also played an important role in obtaining financial support for individual books from such grantors as the Buhl Foundation, the Allegheny Foundation, the Foundation for Landscape Studies, the College Art Association, and the Polish and Russian cultural ministries. 

Kracht began his publishing career at Oxford University Press. He held several key positions in scholarly publishing prior to arriving at Pitt, including senior editor with Westview Press, executive editor with the Greenwood Publishing Group, and editorial director with Praeger Publishers. He earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst in 1984 and did graduate work at the School of International and Public Affairs/Harriman Institute for the Advanced Study of the Soviet Union at Columbia University.