Has anybody else been following the saga of the University of Missouri Press?
It seems as though the university brass have decided to pull the $400,000 in funding that the Press receives each year. Mind you this is a university that has just recently joined the SEC for sports. This will lead to a large payday for the university (estimated around $20 million in TV revenue alone according to USA Today). In fact it is reported that head football coach Gary Pinkel will earn $2.7 million next year despite an average season of 8-5 in a comparatively weak Big 12 Conference. It remains to be seen what the Tigers can do once moving to the powerhouse SEC. Personally, I don't see Alabama, LSU, UF, or any of the others shaking in fear.
As has been stated elsewhere, the major schools in the SEC all have University presses or share them with other universities. UM will sure look out of place when it's rivals all can sing the praises of what their presses contribute to scholarship. Or maybe that's not really the case and I am just hoping. Is big time college only about football now? Maybe university president Tim Wolfe should reconsider and realize that not everything related to higher education and academia is about profit and loss. It's a sad commentary when football (and other sports) take the front seat to knowledge at what is supposed to be an institute of higher learning.
You can read more at the following sites:
The University of Missouri website
Publishers Weekly
The Chronicle of Higher Education
Inside Higher Education
And if you want to keep up on the anti-closure news be sure to join the Facebook page. Just type in Save the University of Missouri Press.
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