Princeton University Press Common Reading Marketing Social Impact Fellowship

Fellowship Description

The Social Impact Fellow for Marketing / Common Reading will contribute to an initiative to enhance the Press’s Common Reading program by: 1) Creating sample course materials for titles in our current catalog (Princeton Common Reading 2023), as well as targeted forthcoming titles; and 2) Supporting the development of a common-reading pilot program to benefit two community colleges in the greater Princeton area.

Since PUP’s Common Reading program is grounded in a scholarly mindset, we regularly provide sample course materials to higher-ed administrators as a promotional tool and a value-added feature of our program. We are offering a summer opportunity that provides graduate students with the chance to work with book content and to interact with authors to develop sample course materials for use in first-year common-reading seminars (such as discussion questions, classroom activities and writing prompts, and other applied uses of book chapters for an undergraduate audience). Graduate students will also participate in an ongoing project to uncover new common-reading audiences at community colleges, vis-à-vis a pilot program to assess market potential at two local institutions. This opportunity will involve surveying recent literature in this area, developing a questionnaire, interviewing college administrators, and working with PUP staff to develop a marketing plan.

Princeton University Press is a globally renowned, mission driven publisher, with a profoundly committed team working around the world, including remote staff and others based at offices in Princeton, Oxford and Beijing. We are eager and grateful to collaborate with graduate students on a range of projects, as well as to learn from the many insights the student experience can offer to our publishing. Among the skills and experiences fellows will gain at PUP are an understanding of the peer reviewed book publishing lifecycle, and how the lifecycle is adapting to changing communities of scholars, educators, readers and libraries; working within cultures of affirmation; communicative agility; and managing meetings and projects and calendars. Fellows will have access to PUP publications and its staff, as well as to a global network of publishers and publishing partners we engage with across the community of the book. Former fellows have helped shape the Press in multitudes of ways, from foundational research on the inequity PUP’s historic publishing demographics, to the reanimation of long ago published work, to marketing in China, to our audio imprint, PrincetonAudio. We look forward to the impact we together can make with social impact fellows. For general queries, please contact Christie Henry, Director: [email protected]

Essential Functions

  • Inventory current PUP course materials and discussion questions (for titles in Common Reading catalog as well as forthcoming titles) to determine where gaps exist.
  • Create sample course materials based on book content and author meetings; coordinate with PUP staff to update website/digital catalog with new content.
  • Survey current literature on common reading programs at community colleges (including sessions on this topic from the February 2023 FYE conference) and develop a questionnaire to assess market potential.
  • Gather background information on programming at two targeted community colleges in Mercer County (NJ) and Bucks County (PA); conduct interviews with administrators.
  • Develop a plan to launch a common-reading pilot program at these two institutions.
  • Work independently and in collaboration with Senior Reference Marketing Manager to manage all aspects of this project.

Additional Job Functions

  • Complete all other duties as assigned or requested for the general support of the organization.

 Qualifications

  • Possesses knowledge of Microsoft Office (especially Excel); internet research; writing and editing skills, especially business communications and reporting.
  • Must be detailed-oriented, curious, and possess strong program-development and interpersonal skills. An interest in pedagogical issues is preferred.

 Physical Demands

  • This is an office type environment with heavy computer use; remote work option available.

Your Host

logo for Princeton University Press

Founded in 1905, Princeton University Press is a nonprofit publisher with close connections to Princeton University. The Press brings influential voices and ideas to the world stage through their academic scholarship, advancing the frontiers of scholarly knowledge and promoting the human conversation. Princeton University Press brings scholarly ideas to the world. We publish peer-reviewed books that connect authors and readers across spheres of knowledge to advance and enrich the global conversation. We embrace the highest standards of scholarship, inclusivity, and diversity in our publishing. In keeping with Princeton University’s commitment to serve the nation and the world, we publish for scholars, students, and engaged readers everywhere.

Visit the GradFUTURES/Princeton University Press Initiative page to learn more about our partnership.

SIF Mentor

Current & Former PUP Fellows