Our Story
Michigan State University Press is the scholarly publishing arm of historic Michigan State University (1855), the nation’s pioneer land-grant university and the prototype for the institutions established under the Morrill Act of 1862. Although a formal Press was not established at MSU until the mid 20th century, scholarly publishing was an important part of the institution’s mission from early on; significant and influential technical publications were regularly issued from the colleges as early as the mid 1870s. Since its founding in 1947, the mission of the Michigan State University Press has been to be a catalyst for positive intellectual, social, and technological change through the publication of research and intellectual inquiry, making significant contributions to scholarship in the arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences.
Both the MSU Press Book Division and Journals Division participate in the Green Press Initiative and are committed to developing and encouraging ecologically responsible publishing practices. In the spirit of our land-grant founding, all new Michigan State University Press books are printed on paper that is approved by the Forest Stewardship Council. Our books meet the minimum requirements established by the American National Standard for Information Sciences-permanence of paper for printed materials, ANSI Z39.48-1992 (R1997). Our Journals Division publishes award-winning, academic journals that span a wide variety of academic disciplines. Michigan State University Press is a member of The Association of American University Presses and The Society for Scholarly Publishing. We participate in the University Readers course materials program and the Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Program.
