One of its perennial bestselling titles is Thomas Bell's historical novel Out of This Furnace, reissued by the press in 1976.

The press was established in September 1936 by University of Pittsburgh Chancellor John Gabbert Bowman.

The first full-time director of the press was Agnes Lynch Starrett, followed by Frederick A. Hetzel (1964–1994),[4] Cynthia Miller (1995–2013),[5] and Peter Kracht (2013–present).

The press was housed on the fifth floor of the Eureka Building on Pitt's main campus in the Oakland section of Pittsburgh.

The press is also collaborating with the University Library System on a new online scholarly journals program.