The provosts of six New England land-grant colleges have released their September 6 letter to Senator John Cornyn in support of FRPAA. From yesterday's press release:
Six public land-grant universities in New England, representing six states and $700 million in annual research investments, have issued a letter of support for the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006 (S.2695). The letter is signed by the Chief Academic Officers from University of Connecticut, University of Maine, University of Massachusetts Amherst, University of New Hampshire, University of Rhode Island, and University of Vermont. This brings the total number of leaders from the higher education community who have spoken out in support of the Act to 125....
Issued on September 6, 2006 by the Council of Presidents - New England Land-Grant Universities, the letter reads:
Dear Senator Cornyn,
As the chief academic officers of the six public land-grant universities, in New England, we are writing to you in support of the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2006. Our universities enroll over 100,000 students. They confer about 17% of the bachelor’s degrees and 20% of the doctoral degrees in New England. Collectively they invest more than $700 million per year on research, largely with the support of federal grants.
Dissemination of results is an essential component of the land-grant tradition of research and of our investment in science. We share your concern that far too often the results of research funded by the U.S. government are not broadly available to researchers, scientists, and members of the public. In addition to ensuring that this research is made available quickly, it is also critical that the published information remain broadly available for future use. We are pleased to see that your bill is designed to support both early, as well as long-term, access to scientific research results.
Open access to publicly funded research facilitates the candid discussion needed to accelerate research, share knowledge, improve treatment of diseases, and increase human understanding. Your bill is a crucial step in realizing this goal, and we look forward to working with you to secure the bill’s passage. .”
The provosts whose names appear below have endorsed the FRPAA. The deans and directors of the universities’ libraries also strongly endorse the FRPAA.
Sincerely,
Peter J. Nicholls, Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Connecticut
Edna Szymanski, Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost, University of Maine
Charlena Seymour, Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Bruce L. Mallory, Provost and Executive Vice President, University of New Hampshire
M. Beverly Swan, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, University of Rhode Island
John M. Hughes, Provost and Senior Vice President, University of Vermont
Posted by
Peter Suber at 9/20/2006 08:56:00 AM.
The open access movement:
Putting peer-reviewed scientific and scholarly literature
on the internet. Making it available free of charge and
free of most copyright and licensing restrictions.
Removing the barriers to serious research.
I recommend the OA tracking project (OATP) as the best way to stay on top of new OA developments. You can read the OATP feed on a blog-like web page or subscribe to it by RSS, email, or Twitter. You can also help build the feed by tagging new developments you encounter.
