The Association of University Presses is saddened to hear of the University of Cincinnati’s final decision to withdraw its support from the University of Cincinnati Press, an AUPresses introductory member. This reflects an unfortunate change in administrative priorities from 2017, when the press was founded in support of the university’s Next Lives Here strategic direction.
In those few short years, press director Elizabeth Scarpelli and her team built a vibrant publishing program dedicated to ensuring academic excellence and cultivating knowledge, as all AUPresses members do. The University of Cincinnati Press served its university’s diverse constituencies and garnered widespread praise, including from the National Council of Public History, the American Library Association’s CHOICE magazine, and the Midwest Independent Publishers Association.
The closure of a press such as Cincinnati’s, with a thriving catalog and record of service to students and institutional priorities, is an anomaly. Though closures or defunding have been considered in several high-profile situations, public outcry and recognition of the significance of a press to multiple stakeholder communities have led university administrations to reconfirm and even strengthen institutional support or find new paths forward. AUPresses and our community of members are disappointed that such efforts have been unsuccessful to save the valued and valuable Cincinnati university press program.
We remain glad that members of the university press community, in particular Ohio University Press and the University of Minnesota Press, are stepping forward to ensure University of Cincinnati Press authors’ work will still be available, these voices still heard, and the region still served. Scarpelli and her UCP colleagues have been generous members of the university press and campus communities, and we look forward to seeing their next chapters.