Iowa State U. Press Will Become Part of International ScientificPublishing House

[Ann Okerson <ann.okerson@yale.edu>]

Not about licensing, but certainly of interest to many readers of
this list.  An nOkerson

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This story from The Chronicle of Higher Education 
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  Tuesday, July 18, 2000

  Iowa State U. Press Will Become Part of International
  Scientific Publishing House

  By SCOTT HELLER
    
  Iowa State University announced Monday that it is turning over
  its university press to a commercial business -- raising
  eyebrows among some scholarly publishers.
  
  The university has agreed to merge the 66-year-old Iowa State
  University Press into Blackwell Science, an international
  scientific and technical publishing company. The press office
  will remain in Ames, Iowa, and none of its 24 employees will
  lose their jobs. But the publishing operation will go from
  nonprofit to commercial when the merger, expected in
  September, is complete.
  
  [SNIP SNIP]
  
  For more than 20 years, neither the university nor the state
  has provided any financial support to the press, according to
  Al Austin, the president of the press's board of directors.
  Iowa State now puts out about 40 titles a year.
  
  While the press was not in financial straits, having just
  finished its best year ever, it couldn't count on the
  university to help it grow and succeed in an increasingly
  competitive environment, said Mr. Austin. "It was made clear
  to us by the past three central administrations that the press
  would have to be a stand-alone operation," said Mr. Austin, a
  professor of civil and construction engineering.
  
  As part of the agreement, Blackwell has committed an estimated
  $2-million to establish an endowment at the university to
  support faculty publication projects. And some new books will
  still be published under the Iowa State Press logo. "The
  I.S.U. Press identity will continue," said Mr. Austin. "It
  will not disappear."
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