Company Profile
Oxford University Press
Company Overview
Status and structure of Oxford University Press
Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.
The University controls the policy of Oxford University Press through a group of Delegates appointed from the academic staff of the University. The Delegates meet fortnightly during term-time under the chairmanship of the Vice-Chancellor. They are actively involved in the publishing programme: all books are referred to them for approval and individual Delegates maintain a dialogue with editors in their specialist subject areas. Delegates are appointed from American universities to advise on the publishing programme for OUP USA.
The Delegates appoint a Finance Committee consisting of some of their own number, the senior executives of the Press, and outside advisers. The Finance Committee acts in much the same way as the board of directors of a company.
The Chief Executive of the Press is also known by the traditional title of Secretary to the Delegates. He chairs the Group Strategy Committee which is in charge of the day-to-day management of the business.
Financial relationship with the rest of the University
As a department of the University, and one of its major assets, the Press has an obligation beyond its scholarly and educational mission to provide the rest of the University with a financial return. The Press transfers 30 per cent of its annual post-tax surplus to the rest of the University, and makes a number of other financial transfers and contributions in kind.
Company History
Oxford University Press had its origins in the information technology revolution of the late fifteenth century, which began with the invention of printing from movable type. The first book was printed in Oxford in 1478, only two years after Caxton set up the first printing press in England.
Despite this early start, the printing industry in Oxford developed in a somewhat haphazard fashion over the next century. It consisted of a number of short-lived private businesses, some patronized by the University. But in 1586 the University itself obtained a decree from the Star Chamber confirming its privilege to print books. This was further enhanced in the Great Charter secured by Archbishop Laud from King Charles I, which entitled the University to print 'all manner of books'.
The University first appointed Delegates to oversee this privilege in 1633. Minute books recording their deliberations date back to 1668, and OUP as it exists today began to develop in a recognizable form from that time.
The University established its right to print the King James Authorized Version of the Bible in the seventeenth century. This Bible Privilege formed the basis of a profitable business throughout the next two centuries and was the spur to OUP's expansion. A Bible warehouse was set up in London, which later grew into a major publisher of books with educational or cultural content aimed at the general reader. OUP then began to expand internationally, starting with the opening of an American office in 1896.
Oxford's traditions of religious and academic publication were followed in New York. The first book published by the American office was the Scofield Reference Bible in 1909. After it came The Life of Sir William Osler, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1926. Six more Pulitzers, several National Book Awards, and over a dozen Bancroft Prizes in American history have followed since. Today OUP USA is Oxford University Press's second major publishing centre, after Oxford, producing nearly 500 titles a year.
Since 1896, the business has changed considerably, with the growth and evolution of schools' publishing, particularly in the Branches; the introduction of English Language Teaching, Music, Journals, and Trade and General publishing; and the use of new technologies. OUP is now one of the largest publishers in the UK, and the largest university press in the world.
Notable Products / Brands
OUP, Oxford Journals