University Press Forum 2013: A Future in These Interesting Times
- University Press Forum 2013A Future in These Interesting Times
This year marks the ninth appearance of the University Press Forum in Choice. But rather than celebrate the forum’s development over this period, we celebrate its success in not changing. The forum began as a completely unguided (by Choice) public discussion—in the voices of university press directors and editors—of university presses: the joys, the trials, the changes, the rescues. And so it remains, as this year’s contributions testify.
We were fortunate in convincing directors/editors of five university presses—Northwestern University Press, University of Missouri Press, University of North Carolina Press, University of Pittsburgh Press, and Washington State University Press—to carve a chunk of time out of busy schedules in order to share their perspectives on the university press enterprise. We gave each a generous 500–1000 words (a magnificent allotment in Choice’s 190-word-review world) to share his or her reflections, be they on the particular press or on university presses as a whole. The essays follow, and you will find that they do not disappoint. They make clear how central university presses are to the grand theme of things academic—and regional.
So we take this space to say thank you to our contributors. And to send a huge huzzah out to all university presses. We—by which I mean not just Choice but the world—would be nothing without them.
Joining this forum is a list of significant university press titles—a longtime tradition—which the individual presses considers particularly valuable to undergraduates. We invite you to explore the list and the treasures it offers.
University of Missouri Press
Without question, the best news from the University of Missouri Press in the first few months of 2013 is that there is a University of Missouri [End Page 35] Press. The administration of the four-campus university system abruptly announced on 24 May 2012 that the press would be ‘phased out’ as an initial step in enforcing a revised set of priorities. Among those priorities, ironically enough, was ‘effective communication of [the university’s] value and importance.’ As events unfolded over the ensuing weeks and outrage grew over the decision, it seemed appropriate to recall Strother Martin’s character in Cool Hand Luke intoning, in that inimitable voice, ‘What we’ve got here is failure to communicate.’
The widespread opposition to the closure made it clear that the press had communicated pretty well with those who wrote and read its publications, whether those books were scholarly monographs, crossover trade titles with a national audience, or volumes focusing on our home state. Some of the earliest dissent came from those who recognized the immediate vacuum that would result from the disappearance of the primary outlet for published work essential to the interpretation, preservation, and nurturance of Missouri’s history, culture, and identity. Authors of regional titles and their considerable audience spoke out and wrote letters to signal their displeasure. Editorials in newspapers across the state, including those in the two largest urban areas, took stands against the closure, and Janese Silvey, an energetic reporter on the university beat for the local paper, wrote a series of revealing articles and blog posts that pieced together the odd sequence of events leading to the decision and its public rationalization.
Through a Facebook page devoted to saving the press and by way of an online petition, Ned Stuckey-French (a press author) and Bruce Miller (a sales representative who handles its titles) generated publicity that led to coverage in influential media outlets such as the New York Times and National Public Radio as well as in their more specialized brethren the Chronicle of Higher Education and Publishers Weekly. Ned and Bruce were particularly articulate spokesmen for the importance of university press publishing, and they gave numerous interviews throughout the summer as the controversy heated up. Their savvy use of social media to rally and mobilize support is an exemplar of...
