An excerpt from the Association of Research Libraries' May 3, 2010 Media Advisory:
"The provosts and presidents of 27 major private and public research institutions have voiced their support for the Federal Research Public Access Act in an "Open Letter to the Higher Education Community," released Friday by the Harvard University Provost. The Act, first introduced in the Senate last year, was introduced in the House of Representatives on April 15. The letter signals expanded support for public access to publicly funded research among the largest research institutions in the U.S."
The letter reads, in part:
"As scholars and university administrators, we are acutely aware that the present system of scholarly communication does not always serve the best interests of our institutions or the general public. Scholarly publishers, academic libraries, university leaders, and scholars themselves must engage in an ongoing dialogue about the means of scholarly production and distribution. This dialogue must acknowledge both our competing interests and our common goals. The passage of FRPAA will be an important step in catalyzing that dialogue, but it is not the last one that we will need to take."FRPAA is good for education and good for research. It is good for the American public, and it promotes broad, democratic access to knowledge. While it challenges the academy and scholarly publishers to think and act creatively, it need not threaten nor undermine a successful balance of our interests. If passed, we will work with researchers, publishers, and federal agencies to ensure its successful implementation. We endorse FRPAA's aims and urge the academic community, individually and collectively, to voice support for its passage."
The full text of the open letter is available on Harvard's web site:
http://osc.hul.harvard.edu/docs/FRPAA-open-letter-2010.php
The full list of signatories:
Mark Kamlet, Provost and Senior Vice President, Carnegie Mellon University
Kent Fuchs, Provost, Cornell University
Carol Folt, Dean of Faculty and Acting Provost, Dartmouth College
Peter Lange, Provost, Duke University
Steven Hyman, Provost, Harvard University
Karen Hanson, Provost and Executive Vice President, Indiana University
David Hodge, President, Miami University
Kim A. Wilcox, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Michigan State University
E. Gordon Gee, President, Ohio State University
Joseph Alutto, Provost, Ohio State University
Rodney A. Erickson, Executive Vice President and Provost, Pennsylvania State University
Christopher L. Eisgruber, Provost, Princeton
Philip Furmanski, Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey
Michael T. Marsden, Dean of the College and Academic Vice President, St. Norbert College
John Etchemendy, Provost, Stanford University
Eric F. Spina, Vice Chancellor and Provost, Syracuse University
Michael A. Bernstein, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, Tulane University
Lawrence Pitts, Provost and Executive Vice President, Academic Affairs, University of California
George Breslauer, Executive Vice Chancellor and Provost, University of California, Berkeley
Enrique J. Lavernia, Provost & Executive Vice Chancellor, University of California, Davis
R. Michael Tanner, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Illinois at Chicago
Wallace Loh, Executive Vice President and Provost, University of Iowa
Vincent Price, Provost, University of Pennsylvania
James V. Maher, Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor, University of Pittsburgh
Donald R. Bobbitt, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Texas at Arlington
Steven W. Leslie, Executive Vice-President and Provost, University of Texas at Austin
Edward S. Macias, Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Washington University in St. Louis