Gita Manaktala, editorial director of the MIT Press, joins Northwestern University in Qatar as the upcoming Dean’s Global Forum guest. Gita will discuss her career in university press and scholarly publishing in the digital age, in a conversation with Dean Marwan M. Kraidy on March 15.
“Gita is a formidable leader in scholarly publishing whose work at the MIT Press and university press publishing has shaped scholarship on digital media and communication,” said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. “I am delighted to have Gita join our community for a discussion on scholarly publishing on all matters digital, a particular field of interest to our community of evidence-based storytellers and the wider scholarly publishing community.”
Gita’s thirty-three year career in publishing began at Grove Press, where she completed an internship during her undergraduate studies in Boston. She joined the MIT Press in 1990 and has worked as a publicist, promotion manager, and eventually marketing director with responsibility for global sales, promotion, publicity, and electronic product development.
In her current role as editorial director of the MIT Press, which she assumed in 2009, Gita works closely with a team of entrepreneurial editors who acquire and develop new books in the sciences, computing, architecture, art, environmental studies, economics, business, design, visual culture, media and game studies, and STS, among others. Her own acquisitions are in the areas of information science and communication, a list she develops in partnership with the editors of the MIT Press’s Information Policy series and Strong Ideas series.
“Gita is a formidable leader in scholarly publishing whose work at the MIT Press and university press publishing has shaped scholarship on digital media and communication,” said Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar. “I am delighted to have Gita join our community for a discussion on scholarly publishing on all matters digital, a particular field of interest to our community of evidence-based storytellers and the wider scholarly publishing community.”
Gita’s thirty-three year career in publishing began at Grove Press, where she completed an internship during her undergraduate studies in Boston. She joined the MIT Press in 1990 and has worked as a publicist, promotion manager, and eventually marketing director with responsibility for global sales, promotion, publicity, and electronic product development.
In her current role as editorial director of the MIT Press, which she assumed in 2009, Gita works closely with a team of entrepreneurial editors who acquire and develop new books in the sciences, computing, architecture, art, environmental studies, economics, business, design, visual culture, media and game studies, and STS, among others. Her own acquisitions are in the areas of information science and communication, a list she develops in partnership with the editors of the MIT Press’s Information Policy series and Strong Ideas series.
“I am delighted to have Gita join our community for a discussion on scholarly publishing on all matters digital, a particular field of interest to our community of evidence-based storytellers and the wider scholarly publishing community”
- Marwan M. Kraidy, dean and CEO of Northwestern Qatar
Gita has served on the board of directors of the Association of American University Presses and co-chaired its first Diversity and Inclusion Task Force, which brought about a standing committee dedicated to Equity, Justice, and Inclusion, which she also co-chaired. She is a member of Beacon Press’ advisory board and is a regular speaker on topics in scholarly communication and publishing.
The Dean’s Global Forum is a series of lectures that features eminent leaders from the academe, the media, the arts, and public affairs. Past speakers have included MSNBC anchor Ayman Mohyeldin; Prathama Banerjee, professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies; Amal Mohammed Al-Malki, founding dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad bin Khalifa University; and Eve Troutt Powell, the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conversation with Gita Manaktala will take place on March 15. For more information, click here.
The Dean’s Global Forum is a series of lectures that features eminent leaders from the academe, the media, the arts, and public affairs. Past speakers have included MSNBC anchor Ayman Mohyeldin; Prathama Banerjee, professor at the Centre for the Study of Developing Societies; Amal Mohammed Al-Malki, founding dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences at Hamad bin Khalifa University; and Eve Troutt Powell, the Christopher H. Browne Distinguished Professor of History at the University of Pennsylvania.
The conversation with Gita Manaktala will take place on March 15. For more information, click here.
