By Stephanie Peters
A press that was a fixture at Northeastern for 27 years will find its place on the campus of Dartmouth College later this month.
As announced in December by Provost Ahmed Abdelal, the Northeastern University Press will instead operate as the sixth member of the University Press of New England (UPNE) academic publishing consortium, which also includes Brandeis University, Dartmouth College, the University of New Hampshire, Tufts University, and the University of Vermont.
Joining the consortium allows Northeastern to maintain both the NU Press label and control over which titles and authors are recommended for publishing, while eliminating the costs associated with staffing and operating an on-campus press.
A publisher of scholarly, non-fiction titles, the NU Press has historically averaged 35 books each year from a diverse group of authors, which includes Northeastern faculty. The initial decision to close the NU Press was announced last March by Abdelal, who explained the combined cost of subsidizing the press and losses from a suffering publisher’s market were too great for the university’s budget.
Although Abdelal and a faculty advisory committee explored alternatives other than joining a consortium, the “competitive advantages” of UPNE made it the “primary serious consideration,” Abdelal said.
“UPNE reached out to us when they learned we were considering not operating as an independent press,” Abdelal said. “I was pleased because we were already thinking it would be the logical choice. It was clearly mutual interest on both sides.”
Established in 1970, UPNE is the only consortium to include both public and private universities, and universities from multiple states. In cooperation with its member institutions, UPNE publishes more than 80 titles annually, and enjoys sales of more than $2.5 million. According to Abdelal, UPNE’s focus in New England and the caliber of universities included in the consortium are two of the factors that contributed to the decision.
Membership in the UPNE provides a solution to the major factor in the decision to close the press: operation costs in a struggling market. As a member of UPNE, the university will pay only an annual membership fee of $56,000, with other costs dependent on the number of titles published and their success in the marketplace, Abdelal said.
However, Associate Professor of Journalism Charles Fountain said he believes the press should never have been closed in the first place.
“The closing, I think, remains one of the most stupid decisions the university ever made, and short-sighted, given the university’s mission,” Fountain said. “You’re talking about what to you and me is a lot of money, $450,000, but that’s the kind of money that, given the budget the university has, they should be able to find in the sofa cushions.”
Meanwhile, being part of the UPNE consortium, Abdelal said, will work in the university’s favor.
“By working together we can have all of the staff talents that we need, but share the cost,” Abdelal said. “It was probably inevitable that we came to this conclusion, at least in my reasoning.”
What wasn’t expected or inevitable was the initial decision to close the press. The decision resulted in an outpouring, urging the administration to reconsider.
Following the announcement to close the press, the Student Government Association (SGA) passed legislation in senate advising the university not to close the press.
“We felt it was a rash decision because the NU Press is a well-established publishing arm that adds to the university’s reputation,” said SGA President Bill Durkin. “However, since we’re trying to improve our reputation, amongst our peers especially, we feel it’s a great idea to join with other prestigious universities like Tufts and Brandeis in the UPNE consortium.”
Others, including Northeastern University Press founder, and its former dean, director, and editor-in-chief, William Frohlich, took issue with Northeastern’s claim that the decision was made out of financial concerns.
“I think that the cost was just a make-believe issue; there never was a discussion between the administration and anyone at the press about lowering costs,” Frohlich said.
Despite the feelings that may still linger, the administration has shifted its attention toward its new collaborative effort.
Abdelal has selected an editorial committee, comprising faculty representing each major area in which the NU Press traditionally prints, which will determine what Northeastern recommends to UPNE for publishing.
The editorial committee includes professors in criminal justice, music, political science, English, history, philosophy and religion. Stuart Peterfreund, an English professor, will serve as chair of the committee and Northeastern’s representative on UPNE’s editorial board.
The committee has yet to convene, and despite production changes, Peterfreund said he hopes the press will continue to print in the subject matter for which it is known.
“Although our annual list will be smaller as a consortium member, the mix of social sciences and humanities titles, with distinctive strengths in women’s studies and New England studies, should remain about the same as it has been,” Peterfreund said.
Even though the NU Press no longer exists as a physical presence on campus, Frohlich and faculty members find solace in the fact that the press’ imprint will be kept alive through UPNE.
Frohlich said he is happier with the knowledge the university chose to join a consortium over closing the press.
“It’s a little like giving me a choice between cutting off an arm or killing me — I’d much rather lose an arm,” Frohlich said.
