Undocumented and in College: Students and Institutions in a Climate of National Hostility, a new book published by Fordham University Press, documents the experiences of undocumented students as they navigate the processes of entering and then thriving in Jesuit colleges.

The book, which is based on an extensive two-year study conducted from 2010 to 2012, was edited by Terry-Ann Jones, Ph.D., associate professor of sociology and anthropology and Director of the International Studies Program at Fairfield University, and Laura Nichols, PH.D., associate professor of sociology at Santa Clara University.

Press editor Fred Nachbaur said the book—an unsolicited arrival in 2015—interested him because of its clear focus on a population that hadn’t received much attention. That has changed dramatically in the last two years, and in fact, he noted that a year ago they changed the sub-head of the book to reflect the changing political climate.

“This is probably more timely than we even anticipated when we signed them for the book,” he said.

Although many messages coming out of the Washington D.C. are hostile to immigration, Nachbaur said Undocumented and in College is an example of how Jesuit institutions resist these sentiments. The Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities (AJCU) reaffirmed its support for DACA this week, and Joseph M. McShane, S.J., president of Fordham, issued his own statement on August 31 to similar effect.

Besides interviewing the students, Jones and Nichols surveyed the knowledge and attitudes among staff and faculty at Jesuit institutions about undocumented students in their midst, and the institutional response to their presence. Separate chapters explore the historical and present-day contexts of immigration, including the role of religious institutions.

One of the authors’ conclusions is that for undocumented students, the migration process is not necessarily the cause of the greatest stress. Rather, a major cause is the fear of the seemingly random differences by municipalities in the application of ad hoc deportation orders, the ambiguities in federal policy initiatives on which their futures rely, and a climate of ignorance on campus of immigration issues.

“The message is, ‘We need to do it.’ You can’t turn your back on undocumented students,” Nachbaur said.

“Columbia University Press is right over there,” he said, pointing to a building directly across West 63rd Street.

“NYU Press is down at Union Square, Oxford University Press is on Madison and 35th, and Cambridge University Press is down near Wall Street. There’s a whole community of scholarly publishers here, and it’s nice to have access to them.”

After 100 years in the Bronx—it was briefly based in Manhattan’s Woolworth Building from 1922-1932—last month the press moved to the Lincoln Center campus. It’s a huge change that Nachbaur said manifested itself almost immediately through more run ins with authors.

“They’ve had meetings I’ve scheduled, or some have just popped in, which could be a good thing—or it could be a bad thing,” he said, laughing.

“It’s nice to have that face-to-face contact. Rose Hill was beautiful, and Arthur Avenue was great, but I felt isolated. Authors were reluctant to take the train up to the Bronx, as much as I tried to convince people that it’s 20 minutes from Grand Central.”

The ability to meet face to face with fellow publishers is particularly important for academic publishers, because the field is much more collegial than commercial publishing, he said. It’s not uncommon to trade stories about distribution and sales patterns over a cup of coffee.

“University presses are generally mission driven. Our mission is to publish boundary breaking scholarship, and help authors who are scholars get tenure, because tenure is contingent on getting published by a university press,” he said.

Fordham University Press publishes 90 books annually, primarily in the humanities and social sciences. Topics include anthropology, classics, communications, the fine arts, gender studies, history, literary studies, philosophy, political theory, religion, sociology, and theology, with a special emphasis on interdisciplinary work.

In 2010, Nachbaur established the Empire State Editions imprint, to better brand and market books focusing on the New York region. Nachbaur said that when he started at the press in 2009, he noticed that previously published books on New York had sold well.

“People love New York City, even people outside of New York,” he said. “It ties into the motto ‘New York is my Campus, Fordham is my School.’ So, in addition to being a good strategic plan for the press, it’s a good strategic plan for the University.”

As part of the series, the press has collaborated with the Bronx Museum of the Arts and the Hudson River Museum in Yonkers. It recently published a book about Brooklyn Bridge Park, and next fall, it will publish a history of the United Nations.

In addition, Nachbaur said that in September, the press will publish the first entry in its new Polis series, digital stories that are 20,000 words or less. Available as e-books or print on demand, they will all have in common an urban theme.

The first publication in the Polis digital shorts series focuses on a themed setting in China called “Thames Town.” Based on the city of London, it is mainly desolate and unoccupied except for wedding photography shoots.

“This move really raises the profile of the press,” he said. “I’m excited that we’re becoming better integrated both with key stakeholders on the Lincoln Center campus and the publishing community at large.”

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On March 24, Fordham University Press (FUP) and the Faculty of Arts and Sciences are sponsoring “The Changing Landscape of Scholarly Publishing: Best Practices for Getting Your Book Published,” a panel discussion on the ins and outs of new book publishing. The event takes place at 4 p.m. in the Pope Auditorium, Lowenstein Center, on the Lincoln Center campus.

“The academic publishing terrain is going through so many changes, including e-book technology and open access, that it can become overwhelming for authors,” said Fredric Nachbaur, director of FUP. “This [will]be a practical forum so professors can walk away with tips on how best prepare a proposal and start working on a manuscript.”

Panelists include:

• Jennifer Crewe, associate director and editorial director, Columbia University Press

• William Germano, professor of English literature, dean of the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art

• Emily Loose, senior editor, Free Press (Simon & Schuster)

• Alan Most, textbook editor, John Wiley & Sons

• Niko Pfund, vice president and publisher of the Academic and Trade Division, Oxford University Press in New York

Among the topics that panelists will explore are: what subjects are currently appealing to publishers; tips on proposal submissions; expected turnaround times from submission to approval; book models for new authors—cloth, paper, dual edition; and what faculty should expect from publishers with respect to editorial support, print run and marketing.

There will also be a discussion on e-books versus print, further digital strategies and the role of university presses and commercial presses in scholarly publishing.

“I think it will be an exciting and useful panel,” said Nachbaur, who will moderate the event.

For more information contact the Press’ Web site.

Fredric Nachbaur is no stranger to university presses. The former marketing and sales director of New York University Press started on Feb. 17 as the director of Fordham University Press. He brings 20 years of managerial, marketing, acquisitions and sales experience to the University’s publishing arm at a time when an economic downturn promises unprecedented challenges. Nachbaur talked about his plans for the press with Inside Fordham.

Q. What are your new duties at Fordham University Press, and what are the greatest challenges that you face?

I have come on board as a CFO, a CEO and an acquisitions editor, but my major responsibility is to make sure that the books we publish are fiscally responsible. Even though we are a nonprofit, we need to be smart about what and how we publish, and to create a budget for each book to make sure it is fiscally sound. I am also looking to expand the program. Currently, we have sales of $1 million a year with about 50 titles—25 per season.

The economy is definitely a challenge. Academic publishing is probably affected less than commercial markets, because we are slow and steady, and sales are not dictated by big blockbuster titles. We have books that, hopefully, backlist and sell over time, and get picked up in courses.

Q. Fordham University Press specializes in the humanities and social sciences, with some general interest regional history. How will you expand the breadth of the catalog?

I’d like to better reflect the strength of the University. Doing some additional Catholic studies would be good, and exploring ethnic studies, as well as publishing proceedings from University conferences.

We’d also like to create partnerships. There are some strong local institutions in the Bronx, Manhattan and Westchester—the Bronx Museum, the Museum of the City of New York, and the Hudson River Museum. FUP has co-published with them and would like to expand those opportunities.

Q. A consortium consisting of Fordham and four other universities just received a $1.16 million Mellon Grant for scholarly books. How will that work?

We have two Mellon-funded series. One is called the American Literatures Initiative (ALI), and the newest one is the Modern Language Initiative (MLI). Both are designed to publish underserved areas of scholarship and first-time authors. A lot of presses have done away with areas that are not profitable, so a lot of voices are not being heard.

The ALI initiative focuses on literature of Central and North America and the Caribbean. The MLI focuses on high-quality scholarship by first-time authors writing about literary theory in other cultures.

Q. What is the future of print? And how is technology shaping the book of the future and how it is used in academia?

Print isn’t going to go away, but more and more people will be reading electronically. For university publishers, it is particularly important because a lot of researchers and students want information electronically—whether it be open access in the library, or on an e-book reader, or on their phones. The technology is clunky right now, but it is progressing.

Part of my job is to come up with FUP’s strategy for e-books. A lot of it happens in the production stage in the way you code or tag books, so that they are searchable online. We can create that tagging and coding now, and then later, the print books can be turned into e-books and searched. That’s something new at FUP.

Q. What is coming out in the Spring 2009 catalog?

We’re proud of the spring season, and there are two books I should mention: Dutch New York and The Hudson-Fulton Celebration. Recently, when I presented these two titles to a buyer, he was very excited. He said, ‘No one else has anything on this. This is going to be a big deal.’ These are exciting regional books that will generate a lot of publicity, author events and signings.