Dear Mr. Shah,
We, the undersigned, are the publishers of the other major university presses in Australia. We write to you to voice our deep concern about the proposed closure of UWA Publishing. We understand the motivation is the non-alignment of UWAP with the University's core mission, and that the published content does not directly relate to the University and its work. Considered narrowly, the same non-alignment could be said of all our university presses, but we are driven by a broader imperative. We see university presses as the connection between the university and the general community, a dissemination of knowledge and culture from the centres of higher learning to those who support universities with their taxes. We see it as a democratisation of knowledge. UWA Publishing is held in high regard among its peers. Terri-ann White and her small team stand tall in their achievements. They publish academic and general titles by local and national writers. Their titles explore our culture, society and politics. Their publishing is at the highest standard. It must be noted that in a state such as WA it can be difficult for academics to find a home for their research and scholarship when it is directly West Australian focussed, and UWAP appears to champion this work and promote it widely. We respectfully submit that University publishing in fact enhances the core business of the modern university: education, research and community engagement. We sincerely hope that the university decides against the closure of one of Australia's most significant university presses, and West Australia's only one. Yours sincerely, Kathy Bail, UNSW Press/New South Books Greg Bain (and staff), Monash University Publishing Chris Feik, La Trobe University Press Nathan Hollier, Melbourne University Press Ben James, University of Queensland Press ***** ***** Support UWAP by signing the petition at Change.org Comments are closed.
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