Jackson Free Press

From her fifth-floor window at the Education and Research Center of Mississippi—known as the R&D Center by most—Seetha Srinivasan has a splendid view of the surrounding trees. Not that she's got her head in the clouds. This petite lady—dressed, always, in her traditional sari—was born 60 years ago Dec. 27 in Bangalore, India. Today she has her feet planted firmly in the state she calls home and where she serves as director of the University Press of Mississippi.

Srinivasan came to the United States in 1967, after she married. Having earned her first master's in English in India, Srinivasan earned a second at Mills College in Oakland, moved to Jackson in 1969, taught English at Tougaloo until 1977, spent the next two years in Gainesville earning a third master's—in journalism—and then returned to Jackson, joining the Press part time in November 1979. "I have been here ever since," she proudly stated. She and her husband, Dr. Asoka Srinivasan, chairman of Tougaloo's biology department and director of the Jackson Heart Study Undergraduate Training Center, have two married sons, one a lawyer, the other a physician. They live out of state now but remain "proud Mississippians."

As the Press' first acquiring editor in 1980, Srinivasan actively sought manuscripts. JoAnne Prichard came on board in 1982, and the two worked together for 15 years—Prichard developing the regional trade list (for the general public), Srinivasan the scholarly works.

The Press is defined by its publications. "It seemed obvious that we should develop ... [Southern literature] given that we live in Mississippi—what state has had more and greater writers than we?" Shrinivasan said.

Publishing 60 to 65 new titles annually, the Press is a consortium press, equally affiliated with Mississippi's eight universities. Ten percent of its operating revenue comes as direct appropriations from those institutions; book sales generate the other 90 percent.

But Srinivasan says her job is about much more than making money. For instance, the strength of the African American studies titles causes many scholars, Srinivasan said, "to do a double-take because usually the idea is to dismiss this state." She went on, "Let me tell you, we had the hardest time overcoming our past, and we see it every day in our travel. People just don't give us enough credit for who we are and what we do. The Press, I think, does a lot to counter that image."