Today the University of Missouri announced the return of Clair Willcox to the University of Missouri Press as Editor-in-Chief and Associate Director effective immediately. AAUP offers its warm congratulations to Clair, to Missouri System President Timothy Wolfe for his willingness to reverse course, and to Missouri Provost Brian Foster and Chancellor Emeritus Richard Wallace for their wisdom, flexibility, and hard work in bringing the press to the Columbia campus and restoring its future. We are certain Clair’s appointment, the continued employment of those staff members at the press who had been told their positions were being eliminated, and the strong pledge of support for the press from Columbia Provost Foster will go a long way toward settling the minds of press authors and series editors and restoring stability.
At the same time, much remains to be done. No organization recovers overnight from the kind of uncertainty and turmoil that has racked the press for the last four months, and even without that turmoil, charting a new course is never easy. AAUP and its members stand ready to offer whatever assistance Clair, the Press staff, and the University may need in the months ahead. For today, though, we join them and the citizens of Missouri in celebrating this triumphant rebirth.
Peter Givler, Executive Director
Association of American University Presses
Media Inquiries:
Regan Colestock
rcolestock@aaupnet.org
212-989-1010 x24