Here is the letter I just sent the president of the university:
Dear President Wolfe:
I am Professor of English at Winthrop University in South Carolina and the
Vice President of the Mark Twain Circle of America, an international
organization with several hundred members. While I cannot speak for all
members of the Mark Twain Circle, I know I speak for the vast majority when
I say that we are very distressed at your recent decision to close the
University of Missouri Press, and we hope you will reconsider.
The press has a number of series, including Mark Twain and His Circle, which
is directed by Tom Quirk, Professor of English at University of
Missouri-Columbia. The University of Missouri Press has established itself
as the leading academic publisher of books on Mark Twain. They published my
book, Mark Twain and Metaphor, in 2007. The staff of the press treated me
and my book with utmost professionalism throughout the process, from
acceptance and editing through layout and production and promotion. All of
the other Twain scholars who have published with the press join me in saying
that we are extremely pleased with the quality of the work by all the staff.
Mark Twain is certainly among the most important and well-known Missourians
who ever lived. It is truly right and proper that the best line of scholarly
books on Mark Twain emanate from the state of his birth, the state that
contributed so much to his greatness as a writer. If the University of
Missouri Press does indeed close, books about him will be published
elsewhere. I consider that a crying shame and a huge loss for your
university and your state.
I join with the many voices who respectfully ask you to reconsider your
decision. The Mark Twain and His Circle series is only one of many that will
suffer if the University of Missouri Press ceases to exist.
Sincerely,
John Bird
Vice President, Mark Twain Circle of America
Professor of English
Winthrop University
Rock Hill, SC 29733
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-----Original Message-----
From: Tracy Wuster
Sent: Tuesday, June 05, 2012 2:34 PM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Save the University of Missouri Press--Facebook page and Petition
Hello all,
I know that many Twain scholars have been following the sad decision to
close the University of Missouri Press. Bruce Miller and Ned
Stuckey-French have passed on the press release below and asked Twain
scholars to join the FaceBook page and sign the petition in support of the
press and the "Mark Twain and His Circle" series.
Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/SaveTheUniversityOfMissouriPress
Petition:
http://signon.org/sign/save-the-university-of.fb8?source=3Dc.fb&r_by=3D3089=
3
Please take a minute to express your support for the press and its work on
Mark Twain.
Best,
Tracy Wuster
*Contacts: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Bruce Joshua Miller Ned Stuckey-French
773 275-8156 850 553-9549
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<[log in to unmask]>
<[log in to unmask]>
CLOSING OF UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI PRESS PROMPTS MASSIVE REACTION
Facebook Page Attracts Hundreds; Missourians and Others Up in Arms
New University of Missouri President Tim Wolfe=92s announcement last Thursd=
ay
that he was shutting down the University=92s press has prompted a firestorm
of opposition.
The Press, which was founded 54 years ago, has published approximately
2,000 titles for both scholars and the general reader, everything from a
biography of St. Louis Cardinals=92 great Stan Musial to the Collected Work=
s
of Langston Hughes. The Press has also published the letters and
autobiography of favorite son Harry Truman, and now Missourians and others
have decided to =93give =91em hell.=94
Authors, teachers, librarians, Missouri alums, and readers from across the
state of Missouri and the country have voiced their outrage. Within one day
a =93Save the University of Missouri Press=94 on Facebook had attracted ove=
r
600 followers. Articles about the national reaction to the closing have
appeared already in Publishers Weekly, Inside Higher Ed, St. Louis Today,
and the Columbia (MO) Daily Tribune.
Many of the letters and posts have focused on the disparity between the
fact that the head football coach at the University of Missouri Gary Pinkel
receives an annual salary of $2.7 million while the University=92s subsidy
for the Press=92s staff of ten, which designs, edits and produces 30 titles=
a
year, is only $400,000.
Successful trial lawyer, UM alum and Missouri Press author Thomas Strong
wrote President Wolfe to say, =93I cannot adequately express how offended I
am by your decision. Please remove the plaque that bears my name in a room
of the law school. I will make no further financial gifts to MU.=94
The American Association of University Presses (AAUP) issued a formal
announcement: =93The AAUP was shocked by the unexpected announcement by
University of Missouri system president Timothy Wolfe of the planned
closure of the University of Missouri Press. =85The shortsighted decision t=
o
close an experienced publishing center during a time of expansion in
scholarly communications rather than to creatively benefit from the
invaluable resource of a widely respected university press is one we hope
the University of Missouri will reconsider.=94
The Press publishes scholarly series and editions devoted to the work of
Missouri-born authors such as Langston Hughes and Mark Twain, and scholars
of those authors have been some of the first to write to President Wolfe.
Southern Methodist University professor and Hughes scholar Darryl
Dickson-Carr wrote, =93Hughes, as you know, was a native son of Missouri, o=
ne
of many stellar writers born, raised, or shaped by the state's great, rich
history. I needn't tell you of the others, including Mark Twain, who helped
put Missouri at the heart of this nation's great literary tradition. =85I
urge you to reconsider because the press has already been an excellent
steward of the state's resources. It has taken the funds invested and
turned them into scholarship that documents the history of a great state.
It has enhanced the university's mission. Without it, all of us will be
poorer.=94
National Public Radio commentator, Seattle librarian and author Nancy Pearl
wrote, =93As a book lover, I am saddened by this decision - especially in
light of the huge disparity between what the relatively paltry amount that
University of Missouri Press needs to continue operations in comparison to
the huge amount of money that goes to support the University's major sports
teams. Something's screwy in our values, here.=94
At the time of this release, President Wolfe had not responded to the
public outcry.
####
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