UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State University Press has announced the hiring of a new member to its acquisitions team. Archna Patel, who most recently served as associate editor at the University of California Press, will acquire books in rhetoric and communications, Africana studies, and other subjects.

Archna Patel holds a bachelor of arts degree in art history and history from the University of California, Los Angeles, and worked in several roles at the University of California Press before being promoted to associate editor in 2020. She has a strong background in acquiring titles in art history, as well as experience and interest in Latino studies. Prior to the University of California Press, Patel worked as a research associate at the Chicano Studies Research Center at UCLA and as a curatorial intern at the J. Paul Getty Museum, where she assisted on the exhibitions "The Scandalous Art of James Ensor" (2014) and "Unruly Nature: The Landscapes of Théodore Rousseau" (2016). Patel begins her new position with PSU Press on July 25 and will remain based in California.

"We are thrilled to welcome Archna to the Acquisitions Department of PSU Press," said Editor-in-Chief and Assistant Director Kendra Boileau. "She brings an impressive combination of experience, enthusiasm and creative thinking that will serve our lists well."

Founded in 1956, Penn State University Press publishes high-quality books, journals, and graphic novels of interest to scholars and general readers, with a focus on the humanities and social sciences. To learn more, visit the PSU Press website.