Discussions

A guest post from Feeding the Elephant: A Forum for Scholarly Communications.

Guest post by Brian Halley, executive editor, University of Massachusetts Press.

Many editors within scholarly publishing are trying to diversify who gets published. We are working to break old habits that reward those with privilege and deny access to others who come from underprivileged backgrounds, or who lack institutional affiliations, or who have not received training on very specific ways to approach publishers. We conduct publishing workshops outside of the usual venues (i.e., universities that can

A post from Feeding the Elephant: A Forum for Scholarly Communications.

An interview with Amy Brand, director and publisher, The MIT Press.

On May 8, 2023, MIT Press announced that it had received a $10-million dollar gift from Arcadia to establish an endowment and support the Press’s open-access publishing initiatives. Here, MIT Press Director and Publisher Amy Brand talks about what the gift will mean.

Feeding the Elephant (FtE): This $10-million gift seems like a big investment! How significant a contribution is it relative to MIT Press’s existing funding?

Amy Brand (AB): This

A guest post from Feeding the Elephant: A Forum for Scholarly Communications.

Book Review by Alison Syring, acquisitions editor, University of Illinois Press

Michelle R. Boyd’s Becoming the Writer You Already Are (SAGE Publications, 2023)

I have a background in writing, and I’ve read a ton of writing books: fiction, poetry, narrative nonfiction, scholarly writing. I haven’t read everything, of course, but until I read Becoming I felt like I had a broad toolbox of resources I could rely on to help both myself in my writing endeavors and authors in theirs. Yet Becoming the Writer You

A guest post from Feeding the Elephant: A Forum for Scholarly Communications.

Guest post by Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, director of publishing, University of Guam Press.

The mission of the University of Guam Press (UOG Press) is to advance scholarship, develop cultural literacy, and expand accessibility to knowledge about the peoples and cultures of Micronesia by providing high-quality, peer-reviewed publishing services. The Press was revived in 2015 after decades of dormancy and has quickly grown into the region’s premier publishing house. Prior to the Press’s revival, most

A monthly newsletter from Feeding the Elephant: A Forum for Scholarly Communications.

Scholarly Communications

Lauren Coffey, House Bill Seeks to Limit Access to Federally Funded Research, Inside Higher Ed, Aug. 1, 2023.

• A provision in the contentious House budget bill would do away with government agencies complying with the Nelson Memo, which aims to make the findings of federally funded research available immediately.

Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, Stuck in Your Writing?, Inside Higher Ed, Aug. 3, 2023.

• The trick, Ahern-Dodson writes, is finding the right person for the feedback you

A guest post from Feeding the Elephant: A Forum for Scholarly Communications.

Guest post by Manuela Gerlof, Vice President Publishing, Humanities and Social Sciences, De Gruyter.

As an experienced editor and head of an editorial department, I’m often asked what I look for in a book. My answer is always the same - I want to be engaged! A well-researched book on an interesting topic with a compelling argument will easily find an audience among publishers and readers alike. Approaching publishers can be intimidating, but rest assured, they want to hear from you! To help navigate the process

A monthly newsletter from Feeding the Elephant: A Forum for Scholarly Communications.

Affirmative Action 

Scott Jaschik, What Could Colleges Do Without Affirmative Action? Inside Higher Ed, June 20, 2023.

• In the leadup to the Supreme Court’s ruling, Jaschik examined alternatives that universities are considering to recruit diverse classes: percentage plans and community college transfer recruitments.

Scott Jaschik, What the Supreme Court Rejection of Affirmative Action Means, Inside Higher Ed, June 29, 2023.

• Jaschik breaks down the opinions issued, the new legal realities, and

A monthly newsletter from Feeding the Elephant: A Forum for Scholarly Communications.

Affirmative Action 

Scott Jaschik, What Could Colleges Do Without Affirmative Action? Inside Higher Ed, June 20, 2023.

• In the leadup to the Supreme Court’s ruling, Jaschik examined alternatives that universities are considering to recruit diverse classes: percentage plans and community college transfer recruitments.

Scott Jaschik, What the Supreme Court Rejection of Affirmative Action Means, Inside Higher Ed, June 29, 2023.

• Jaschik breaks down the opinions issued, the new legal realities, and

A guest post from Feeding the Elephant: A Forum for Scholarly Communications.

Guest post by Angela Anderson, director, Marine Corps University Press.

In 2006, the U.S. Marine Corps convened a group of current and former military leaders and scholars to evaluate the status of professional military education within the Corps, specifically Marine Corps University in Quantico, Virginia. Their focus was on four critical elements: faculty, students, curricula, and facilities. At the end of three months of deliberation, General Charles E. Wilhelm’s committee made a series of recommendations to

A monthly newsletter from Feeding the Elephant: A Forum for Scholarly Communications.

Scholarly Research and Publishing News

Sara Weissman, “Binghamton and HBCUs Launch Research Alliance,” Inside Higher Ed, June 14, 2023.

• Faculty members and students across the institutions will participate in joint research initiatives on a range of topics, including artificial intelligence, data science, cybersecurity, biomedical engineering, health care and agriculture.

Scott Jaschik, “U of Vermont Launches Open-Access Press,” Inside Higher Ed, June 14, 2023.

• Fully funded by the university and overseen by UVM