Reactions to University of Missouri Press's threatened closure

According to Book Business, author William Least Heat-Moon wrote an impassioned protest in the Columbia Daily Tribune against University of Missouri System President Tim Wolfe's decision to close the University of Missouri Press. An online petition to save the publisher received more than 4,000 signatures in the first few days after the announcement. Heat-Moon writes that closing the publisher would leave the University of Missouri as the only SEC school without an academic publisher, at the same time that the University is spending $200 million to upgrade its athletic facilities. Heat-Moon pledged "a five-figure initial donation for the establishment of an endowment to continue the press in its present form if the proposal for closure is rescinded." The American Association of University Presses is supporting the UM Press and Mr. Heat-Moon's offer.