Stanford University provost Persis Drell late Tuesday indicated that the university was backing down -- at least for another year -- on plans to end financial support for the Stanford University Press.
She acted amid widespread anger among faculty members at the university -- and nationally -- over her plan announced last week to end university financial support for the press. The university has been giving the press $1.7 million a year, while the press brings in $5 million a year in book sales. Ending the support would effectively result in dozens of books not being published that would have been otherwise.
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Stanford publishes about 130 books a year. It is particularly well-known in the fields of Middle Eastern studies, Jewish studies, business, literature and philosophy. While much of the scholarship published by the press comes in traditional formats, the press has also been a leader in disseminating “born digital” scholarship.
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