University presses are a reticent lot. We flourish offstage,
delighted to shine the spotlight on our authors and their extraordinary
works. We want them to get the glory; for ourselves, we hope only for
enough reflected light to reveal our individual imprints as standards of
excellence. Our books and journals speak not only for themselves, but
for us.
Apparently, they don't speak loudly enough. Our modesty -- perhaps a
virtue in other times -- has become a liability. Many university presses
face serious budget cuts and other convulsive changes. In recent months
the University of Missouri, having first announced the closing of its
press, reversed course to declare the press would remain open, but
operate under a drastically different model. Subsequent to that the
university announced that the press will retain many of its original staff, features, and goals.
After the highly publicized and contentious deliberations, University
of Missouri President Tim Wolfe stated that "my goal is to develop a
press that is vibrant and adaptive...."
If university presses spent more time beating our own drum, President
Wolfe might have recognized before he first acted that there are few
modern educational institutions as adaptive as university presses. In a
rapidly changing publishing culture, that's precisely what we must do
and have been doing to remain vibrant. Indeed, Wolfe’s stated goal for
the University of Missouri Press helps to define the next chapter in our
challenge to discharge our scholarly mission.
Yellow Cucumbers Edible
2 years ago
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