03 Nov 08

Dr Henry Reece, Secretary to the Delegates and Chief Executive of Oxford University Press, has announced that he will retire in June 2009.

Dr Henry Reece, Secretary to the Delegates and Chief Executive of Oxford University Press (OUP), has announced that he will retire in June 2009 after eleven years in the position.

In the last decade OUP has seen tremendous growth, consolidating its position as the largest university press in the world. As a department of the University of Oxford, OUP has gone from strength to strength in furthering the University’s mission of excellence in scholarship, research, and education by publishing worldwide. The period has seen substantial investment in the Oxford English Dictionary, the completion of the new edition of the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, the successful launch of a range of new online initiatives spearheaded by Oxford Scholarship Online, and a massive expansion of OUP’s reach in countries such as India, China, South Africa, Spain, Italy, Poland, Brazil, and Korea.

'I would like to thank Dr Reece for his valuable contribution to the University's success over the past decade', commented Dr John Hood, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University. 'The Press's consistently excellent educational and scholarly publishing across the world carries the values of the University to many diverse audiences. The Press's publishing success and efficient operation has also benefitted the rest of the University by funding scholarships, research grants, and building projects, which contribute to maintaining our position as one of the world's leading teaching and research institutions.'

Despite the decade of success, Dr Reece feels that eleven years is long enough for the Press to have one person at its head. 'The position of Secretary to the Delegates and Chief Executive of the Press is, without any exaggeration, the best publishing job in the world,' he commented. 'I feel privileged to have played a part in the Press’s development since 1998, and I am confident that it will continue to evolve successfully well into the future.'

The search for Dr Reece’s successor will be undertaken by the University through a committee chaired by Professor Sir John Vickers (Chair of the Finance Committee of the Press and Warden of All Souls College) and it is hoped that an appointment will be made by the Delegates of the Press by Spring 2009.