Helen Tartar, the editorial director of Fordham University Press, died in an automobile accident in Colorado on March 3. She was 62 years old.
Tartar joined Fordham University Press in 2003 after a 20-year career in scholarly publishing on the West Coast. During her tenure she produced more than 650 titles with the Fordham University Press imprint.
“Helen was one of the most passionate and dedicated editors in the academic publishing community, and I feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with her for the past five years and to collaborate with her on transforming Fordham University Press into one of the leading scholarly presses in the United States,” said Fred Nachbaur, the director of Fordham University Press. “I was in awe of her tireless commitment to enhancing scholarship in the humanities and social sciences, and her ability to attract a devout group of authors.”
Tartar was a graduate of Swarthmore College, where she majored in English. She held a master’s degree in English and a master’s degree in East Asian studies, both from Yale University.
I was at your memorial service in New York, somewhere close to Washington Square. I did not speak, since there were so many others who were much closer to you. But, a belated thanks for helping Bettina Bergo and I get Judeities published. You were so gentle and intelligent.Your friendship, extended to youth and young ideas, I felt reaching out to me in such a way that I still recall my longing to speak more with you.
Like some professional nannies who have the heart to love and be loved by children not your own, you were truly the alma mater of a multitude of minds.