Valpo Strategic Plan

[David81]

Ironies abound here.

A generation or two ago, studying the humanities -- especially the Western canon -- was considered by some to be affirming of intellectual, literary, and cultural oppression. The "Great Books" were regarded by many as being (small c) conservative in orientation, and many who identified with that orientation felt the need to defend the canon against folks they regarded as radical extremists.

Today, studying the humanities is regarded by some as a self-indulgent, impractical course of instruction, often associated with views of (drum roll....) radical extremists. The "Great Books" have now been tagged as being on the more (small l) liberal side, even if there are a handful of religiously conservative schools (e.g., Hillsdale) that embrace them.

As someone who is studying the Great Books in a venerable four-year, adult education program offered by the University of Chicago -- the Basic Program of Liberal Education for Adults (https://graham.uchicago.edu/programs-courses/basic-program) -- I'm happy to report that the Great Books, properly framed, do not dictate a given point of view. Rather they invite differing interpretations, and, equally important, promote the development of analytical thinking skills that can contribute to success in just about any vocation.

My mandatory academic exposure to the Great Books of the Western World  would be best described as 'you don't have to like it, you just have to do it.' If only I had known about Cliff's Notes back then. lol

I was not part of Christ College as a freshman, but VU had an option where you could join as a sophomore. I gave it a try -- a two-course sequence called "Masterpieces of Literature" -- but was too interested in other topics to stick with it. However, friends who did the full CC program got a lot out of it, and they eventually would enter varied professions, including law, journalism, finance, computer programming, teaching at all levels, engineering, and so forth.

I also took a CC theology class and did show the professor, a very good-natured man named Dale Lasky, my copy of Cliff's Notes for the New Testament. 

[wh]

Everything you didn't want to know about the art world view on deaccessioning, but probably should:

(Includes a reference to the Valpo dispute)

Why the Whitney Museum sale at Sotheby's is controversial in the art world
By Georgina Adam

May 13, 2023 | 10:00am

https://nypost.com/2023/05/13/the-whitney-museum-of-sothebys-art-sale-is-a-scandal/amp/

[VULB#62]

Fascinating information. Thanks for finding and posting it. 

What surprised me more than what I learned was the source of this info — The NY Post  .  As a former New Yorker (a long time and a few lives ago) I always considered this tabloid on a par with a lot of the British tabloids, and if you look at some of the ancillary articles about porn queens and weird stuff, that assumption is supported. But this article was well written, had depth and was longer than the standard Post article that usually runs just long enough to read between two subway stops.

[wh]

I still don't agree with how Valpo's faculty turned the dispute here into a public spectacle, but admittedly the article gave me a better appreciation for the importance of guardianship standards.

IMO, the Valpo opposition group would have been much better served by providing this type of context to help stakeholders such as myself (and the public) better understand their position.

[wh]

One more observation. As the article contends, paintings with great intrinsic value today could be essentially worthless 5 or 10 years from now, i.e., those painted by privileged white guys from the "tyrannical patriarchy."

Assuming this contention is accurate, university leadership has a fiduciary responsibility to sell the paintings in question before they become worthless wall hangers. That's the problem with listening to faculty. They have no more accountability than an armchair quarterback watching a football game on TV.

[valpopal]

One more observation. As the article contends, paintings with great intrinsic value today could be essentially worthless 5 or 10 years from now, i.e., those painted by privileged white guys from the "tyrannical patriarchy."

Assuming this contention is accurate, university leadership has a fiduciary responsibility to sell the paintings in question before they become worthless wall hangers. That's the problem with listening to faculty. They have no more accountability than an armchair quarterback watching a football game on TV.

Since the primary piece among "the paintings in question" was created by the most prominent woman American artist, I don't think its value will decrease or "become worthless" because it was "painted by privileged white guys." Indeed, it will only increase further for that very reason. Also, "listening to faculty" who know what they are doing, the university's art collection grew from a few unknown pieces gathering dust in the library basement or on an office wall to a world class museum with about 3,000 artworks that is likely the most valuable and enviable asset at the university. Those faculty you disparage were wise enough to purchase individual works for hundreds or thousands of dollars that are currently worth millions each. Now that is what I call "accountability"!

[VULB#62]

One more observation. As the article contends, paintings with great intrinsic value today could be essentially worthless 5 or 10 years from now, i.e., those painted by privileged white guys from the "tyrannical patriarchy."

Assuming this contention is accurate, university leadership has a fiduciary responsibility to sell the paintings in question before they become worthless wall hangers. That's the problem with listening to faculty. They have no more accountability than an armchair quarterback watching a football game on TV.

Since the primary piece among "the paintings in question" was created by the most prominent woman American artist, I don't think its value will decrease or "become worthless" because it was "painted by privileged white guys." Indeed, it will only increase further for that very reason. Also, "listening to faculty" who know what they are doing, the university's art collection grew from a few unknown pieces gathering dust in the library basement or on an office wall to a world class museum with about 3,000 artworks that is likely the most valuable and enviable asset at the university. Those faculty you disparsge were wise enough to purchase individual works for hundreds or thousands of dollars that are currently worth millions each. Now that is what I call "accountability"!

Pal, your point on the O'Keeffe painting is well made and, yes,  it will hold if not grow in value. In that respect, it fits within the perimeter of a modern view of how art should be valued. And the fact that these pieces were collected over time and gained incredible value is to be commended.

However, I'd  like to address what I've bolded in your response. 

I consider myself a more than an average involved alum. I actually read everything I receive in the mail from Valpo. I have bookmarked as favorites, not only this site, but numerous other Valpo sites that I check pretty regularly.  And now for the first time, I'm informed that the campus of my alma mater houses a world class art museum with over 3,000 pieces of great art?  Really?  Well, that's probably been a better kept secret than the nuke codes in Biden's "football." 

If true, and I have no reason not to believe your statement, I am incredibly disappointed in my university's lack of vision and inability to forcefully communicate this extremely important message to, not only alums like me, but the world in general.  And, to think, none of this would have come to light had it not been for the art sale kerfuffle. 

My gut reaction to what I've learned is that that a small circle of people collected something unique over time and failed miserably to adequately share and promote it with the full and extended Valpo community as well as the rest of us in the regular world (not just a limited and often  pompous art aficionado cadre). Why?  Maybe something in the Lord of the Rings has the answer.....  my precious.

[vu84v2]

I will add to 62's comments, by also noting that I read much of the literature sent from Valpo (perhaps not as diligently as 62) and I never knew about the depth of the art museum (I knew about the museum and had been in the building for other reasons).

We have been around this debate for some time, but I still do not agree with any arguments regarding the value going forward. If one makes the argument that "art will continue to increase in value" and, thus, this art is a wise investment - that argument does not hold if the assumption is made that the art will never be sold. Relatedly, the return on investment from the art, while it is in Valpo's possession, is a small fraction of the return from selling the art (and, no, you cannot make the argument that intangible value is therefore infinite). For Valpo (and most other universities), retaining or investing further in an asset needs to consider the forward-looking value of the asset versus other alternatives. And those alternatives create greater value for Valpo that retaining the art.

[valpopal]

I confess that I underestimated the size of the Brauer collection, which according to its website apparently now contains over 5,000 artworks rather than the 3,000 I suggested.


'62 and '84: I am not sure how to respond to your comments that you have read much of the literature from Valparaiso University but were unaware of the art holdings. The premier publication for VU over the decades has been The Cresset, and just about every issue since the 1970s has included pieces from the Brauer (before the museum they were listed as works from "the Valparaiso University art collection") as its cover artwork with descriptive notes. In fact, I just checked the archives and saw that issues back in the 1960s had articles about art at VU written by Richard Brauer, though of course that was well before the museum was established and the attributions simply state Collection of Mr. and Mrs. Richard H. W. Brauer. Many of The Cresset issues shared stories about current exhibits at the museum. Additionally, features about the Brauer Museum and its collection have been published regularly over the years in VALPO magazine. For instance, the Winter 2019 had a section titled "Winter Exhibits at the Brauer." Of course, the Brauer was closed in spring 2020 because of Covid and only reopened this year.


Additionally, introductory tours of the Brauer Museum appear online. At YouTube you can find some of the video tours, including one that has been there for more than twelve years. One of the best videos focuses on the museum's preeminent Georgia O'Keeffe painting. Finally, I recommend taking the virtual tour of all 7 galleries in the museum at its main web page, which displays one of my favorite and one of the most popular exhibitions, the Frank Dudley retrospective.



A sampling of the world class artists whose work is included in the permanent collection (see the Permanent Collections page): Adams, Anderson, Bechtle, Bolotowsky, Burchfield, Chase, Church, Close, de Kooning, Dine, Dove, Dudley, Durand, Frankenthaler, Frank Stella, Glackens, Harrison, Hassam, Hunt, John Sloan, Joseph Stella, Junius Sloan, Kensett, Kuhn, Marshall, Mitchell, Nourse, O'Keeffe, Paschke, Pasin, Sloan, Pearlstein, Reid, Richards, Sanderson, Soyer, Steele, Stieglitz, Walker, and Warhol. For some of these artists, the museum has multiple examples of their work. For instance, there are various silkscreens by Andy Warhol, as well as more than 150 of his photographs. A number of Brauer holdings have also exhibited on loan at famous museums throughout the United States and Europe. Moreover, exchange agreements have allowed celebrated art from those museums to be exhibited at the Brauer Museum.

[VULB#62]

And, Pal, I confess that my familiarity with the VU publications I mentioned is at the common, superficial level. For instance, I've not been on distribution for the Cresset.  I'm sure there is lots of stuff below the surface that, if triggered, I would have delved into.  And that's my point.  My point is an average alum would have to have had something pretty much "in your face" multiple times to really appreciate the significance of the museum and its holdings, and until the kerfluffle, I, and I bet a majority of alums and a great portion of the world outside of Valpo, had no clue.  And that bothered me.

[vu72]

I confess that my familiarity with the VU publications I mentioned is at the common, superficial level. For instance, I've not been on distribution for the Cresset.

With good reason, as it is a subscription based publication:

http://www.thecresset.org/subscriptions.php

[valpopal]

I confess that my familiarity with the VU publications I mentioned is at the common, superficial level. For instance, I've not been on distribution for the Cresset.

With good reason, as it is a subscription based publication:

http://www.thecresset.org/subscriptions.php

The Cresset went on hiatus in spring 2020 at the start of Covid. Its issues, from Spring 2020 back to 1937, are available for viewing online: https://scholar.valpo.edu/cresset_archive/


VALPO magazine is published annually, and its issues are available online:
https://www.valpo.edu/valpomag/

[David81]

I confess that my familiarity with the VU publications I mentioned is at the common, superficial level. For instance, I've not been on distribution for the Cresset.

With good reason, as it is a subscription based publication:

http://www.thecresset.org/subscriptions.php

The Cresset went on hiatus in spring 2020 at the start of Covid. Its issues, from Spring 2020 back to 1937, are available for viewing online: https://scholar.valpo.edu/cresset_archive/


VALPO magazine is published annually, and its issues are available online:
https://www.valpo.edu/valpomag/

The indefinite hiatus status of The Cresset is one of the unfortunate COVID casualties that hits VU at the core of its intellectual orientation on faith, values, the humanities, and reflective thinking. This was a significant forum for O.P. Kretzmann and other VU stalwarts. It managed to continue publishing during WWII, and it helped to forge VU's institutional identity in the post-war period during O.P.'s presidency.

[valpopal]

The indefinite hiatus status of The Cresset is one of the unfortunate COVID casualties that hits VU at the core of its intellectual orientation on faith, values, the humanities, and reflective thinking. This was a significant forum for O.P. Kretzmann and other VU stalwarts. It managed to continue publishing during WWII, and it helped to forge VU's institutional identity in the post-war period during O.P.'s presidency.

I served seven years as a columnist for The Cresset. I always appreciated the range of topics and variety of voices included in the contemporary issues. As well, I appreciated the tradition from which the publication's revered reputation had risen.

[wh]

"The Cresset went on hiatus in spring 2020 at the start of Covid."

I've never heard of The Cresset until this weekend. Having little to no personal interest in the subject matter, presumably I would not have looked at it even if I was aware. I mean no disrespect in any way. It's just not something that would have piqued my curiosity.

That said, I do find it somewhat curious that a magazine published for more than 80 years before it was temporarily suspended in the spring of 2020 "due to COVID" hasn't been resumed in the 3+ years since. I'm guessing that there is more to the explanation?

[VULB#62]

With great respect for all our posters on this forum, the previous posts by David, Pal and WH underscore what I feel is an area of challenge that the current administration needs to address for the university's own suvival:  PROMOTION (or perhaps a lack thereof in the context of the current information age).

A world class art museum, a run to the sweet 16 in D-I MBB, a precedent-setting curriculum, blah, blah, blah has to be leveraged and intensely promoted in this new age of education. And so many times Valpo has missed the boat. This has to turn around sooner, not in a while. Our administration and our faculty have to at least get together on this one page. And funding has to be increased to support getting more positive information out to mainstream America. For it's own good we've gotta kick it up a notch or two or more.

With that freshly in mind, I will say that the promotion around the MBB change is quite impressive. Shouldn't the same energy be invested elsewhere as well?  We are talking survival here.

[crusadermoe]

That all makes sense.  It just signifies further the unfortunate needs to pull back on things that make an education like Valpo unique.  Unfortunately it feels like moving up in car size to keep program breadth, but not being able to afford the normal cost-added feature "packages." 

[David81]

"The Cresset went on hiatus in spring 2020 at the start of Covid.... That said, I do find it somewhat curious that a magazine published for more than 80 years before it was temporarily suspended in the spring of 2020 "due to COVID" hasn't been resumed in the 3+ years since. I'm guessing that there is more to the explanation?

There wasn't anything particularly unusual about the end of the Cresset in 2020. The end of it was simply that the (part time?) staff member who used to run and edit it got laid off during Summer 2020 like 200+ other staff. It was a budget casualty like a lot of other things, and the person who used to run it just didn't turn up again the next Fall.

Sure, it used to be a significant means by which Valpo cultivated its reputation in the humanities and public-discourse sorts of spaces on the national level (sort of like Commonweal or First Things), so I heard sadness from Christ College faculty over the loss of it. But at the time, I admit, (to me) it didn't seem as damaging as some of the other cuts going down, and I don't remember anybody fighting as hard for the journal as they did for some of the faculty and program staff cuts or student support center cuts. I mean, for perspective, the uni had also laid off the Director of the Writing Center that saw a gazillion students a semester in the heart of Christopher Center, and laid off the Language Resources Center people who were right there on the first floor of ArtSci and normally a key stop on the admissions tours... so prospectives were coming through to see that display area just totally dark and out of commission for those years. And whole programs, even pretty popular pre-professional ones like Social Work and Education, were going through the discontinuance process/defense. People were realizing that with the loss of so many language faculty and courses, leaving only French/German/Spanish left, the "World Languages and Cultures" department might have to rebrand much more parochially as 'European languages' or something. So with bigger fish to fry, what faculty member is going to waste precious social capital on trying to fight the Admins over a Christian/Lutheran journal that probably none of the upper-admins ever read?

The Cresset was a nice feather in Valpo's cap and helped with inter-institutional reputation in the 'Christian higher ed' world, but the reality is that subscription journals on the whole are on the decline, the Cresset always helped more with peer impressions than with immediate recruitment of high schoolers, and everyone just seemed to accept that Valpo was just past the point of being able to foster that sort of public intellectual/ reputational kind of stuff anymore.

Of course those faculty members are going to fight harder to keep colleagues and programs. But if the loss of The Cresset becomes permanent, now we're talking about the demise of intellectual traditions that go to the core mission of the University. And while I agree 100% that The Cresset was not a student recruitment mechanism for VU (nor was it ever intended to be), peer impressions continue to count in academe, even if for the very mercenary purposes of rankings that include peer-review input (as do the U.S. News higher ed rankings). I've said before that at some point, cuts become a race to the bottom, when there's not a lot left of the hollowed-out self.

[vu84v2]

From today's Chicago Tribune:

Indiana AG files for dismissal of artwork lawsuit against Valpo U
By Amy Lavalley Post-Tribune

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita is backing up Valparaiso University's contention that a lawsuit to stop the sale of three of the Brauer Museum's most valuable pieces of artwork to fund dorm renovations for first-year students should be dismissed because the plaintiffs who filed the suit don't have standing to do so.

In a Tuesday filing, Rokita reiterates the university's claim that Richard Brauer, the museum's founding director and for whom the museum is named, and Philipp Brockington, a retired law professor from the university and one of the museum's benefactors, cannot file the suit because they are not directly connected to the charitable trust, the Percy Sloan Fund, that provided the museum the artwork with the stipulation that proceeds from any sale of the works be reinvested in the museum and its collection.

Further, Rokita said in the filing that the attorney general's office "is the proper party to maintain litigation involving questions of public charitable trust. And an individual member of the public has no right as such to maintain a suit of such character."

Patrick McEuen, attorney for Brauer and Brockington, disagrees.

"This is such an egregious case. There really is no question that the university is ignoring its obligation to maintain and preserve the Sloan artwork donation. It's as plain as the nose on my face, and I wonder whether Todd Rokita's office really intends to oversee this charitable trust," McEuen said. "I have a ton of respect for our attorney general but I wonder whether his minions have already decided and the fix is in."
The university filed a motion to dismiss the case over a lack of standing on May 25. In a response filed June 19, McEuen cites case law about a "special interest" exception to grant standing to enforce a public interest charitable trust, which he said applies to both Brockington and Brauer.

"By destroying the reputation of the recipient of Sloan's donation, the Brauer Museum of Art, the sale will also ignore the donative intent of Brockington's public trust," the filing notes.
Brauer's "special interest," meanwhile, is even more compelling, according to the filing.

"Brauer's dedication to advancing the interests of the museum created by Percy Sloan's donation(s) resulted in the museum bearing his name," the document states. "As the 'art world' denigrates President (Jose) Padilla for its plan, it harms the reputation of the institution to which Brauer has lent his name."

The controversy, as first reported in the Post-Tribune, erupted in February with an announcement by Padilla that the university's board had approved the sale of three cornerstone pieces from the museum, "Rust Red Hills" by Georgia O'Keeffe, Frederic E. Church's "Mountain Landscape" and "The Silver Vale and the Golden Gate" by Childe Hassam, to raise funds to renovate the dorms for first-year students.
Collectively, the pieces are worth millions of dollars and the O'Keeffe painting in particular has been lent to museums across the globe for display.

Students, faculty, alumni and art museum associations have all decried the sale as a violation of the trust agreement that provided the paintings, established museum protocol and the will of museum's benefactors.
University officials have held firm, noting that renovating the dorms is necessary to attract students at a critical juncture for the university's enrollment.

Brauer and Brockington filed the suit, along with a request for a temporary restraining order to halt the sale of the paintings, in late April. They dropped the restraining order request during a hearing in which they learned the sale of the paintings was not imminent.

The complaint alleges that Brauer and Brockington both have standing to challenge the sale of the artwork because of Brauer's longtime association with the museum and personal stake in it, and because of an endowment for the museum established by Brockington to "acquire, restore, and preserve" works of art and artifacts for the museum.

The proposal to sell the artwork for renovating dorms, the documents note, is "as if the Percy H. Sloan donation is a mere ATM to be used irrespective of donor intent."

The case was first assigned to Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer, but he recused himself because he taught on a part-time basis for 20 years at the university's now-closed law school. The case has since been assigned to Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Thode.

Thode gave the university until June 26 to respond to McEuen's filing on behalf of Brauer and Brockington.

[vu84v2]

Of course those faculty members are going to fight harder to keep colleagues and programs. But if the loss of The Cresset becomes permanent, now we're talking about the demise of intellectual traditions that go to the core mission of the University. And while I agree 100% that The Cresset was not a student recruitment mechanism for VU (nor was it ever intended to be), peer impressions continue to count in academe, even if for the very mercenary purposes of rankings that include peer-review input (as do the U.S. News higher ed rankings). I've said before that at some point, cuts become a race to the bottom, when there's not a lot left of the hollowed-out self.

Who knows what to think anymore. The ideal of "intellectual traditions that go to the core mission of the University" sounds lofty, but you really know the core values of a place by where it puts its money, and that is how you know its actual mission or deep strategy. At the end of the day, either you trust that the CFOs know what they're doing, or you don't. If Cresset was part-time, what could that possibly cost... like <$15,000 or <$25,000 a year for that position? (just guessing) And meanwhile how much is Valpo shelling out for basketball coaches or restaurant properties? There we're talking millions of dollars, with a heck of a lot more zeros on the end. The point is just that on some of these things, you can't really logically reason it out by looking at dollar signs and the "mission" or "vision" of the university. The mission to institutionally survive does become the only one that matters, and it seems pretty clear the Board has elected a strategy for survival based less on academic reputation, public intellectualism, & Christian higher ed, and instead more on sports reputation & real-estate. They're even cutting back the already mostly token awards for teaching and research since there's no money for those sorts of academic functions anymore. As Julius Caesar said, leading his troops on the route across the Rubicon, alea iacta est [the die is cast]. Once you're in the river, the troops must go forward. Even if the Cresset is pennies compared to other stuff, im not sure it makes sense for them to resuscitate it after-the-fact. Honestly, it's probably best just to quit worrying about the rest, and everybody should pray hard hard for the basketball team to do well this year. A lot now rests on their shoulders, and I don't envy the sort of pressure they must be under to make the gamble worth it and DELIVER

Valpo22 - While I see the merit in some of your points regarding the intellectual mission of a university, your arguments omit the revenue side of the equation. You seem to look at everything as a cost, but in reality you need to look at the degree that those expenditures generate revenues. I am specifically referencing the basketball program. You state that Valpo is spending in the millions and indeed it is (in the 2021-2022 academic year Valpo's men's basketball expenses were about $2.6M). But, the university reported revenues of $2.58M, and that is incremental revenue from TV, NCAA tournament share, buy games, ticket sales, etc. Valpo posted a loss of about $140K in the prior year, but a gain of about $170K in the year before that. Given that there is a lot of upside (from better performance and subsequently greater interest), this seems like a pretty good investment in which the costs are confidently covered by the revenues over time (especially since a majority of the revenue has minimal risk associated with it).

I think that the same thing probably applies to the real estate - and Valpo may have an alternative plan for how to use that land which fits with the university's mission.

Which brings me back to The Cresset. You are likely correct that the cost was very low, but there are two questions that would need to be considered for whether Valpo should start it again. 1. What was the subscription revenue prior to The Cresset being stopped? (note here that I am not even saying the revenues need to cover costs, I am really just trying to judge the interest...1000 subscribers has a much greater impact than 100 subscribers, 2. Are there people willing to regularly write content for free? On this second point, I have seen great periodicals in which faculty write articles (University of Chicago), but I have seen many more cases where faculty don't consider it a priority. Admittedly, my perspective is on the engineering and business sides - so maybe motivations are different in liberal arts.

[vu72]

I want to jump in here with some observations concerning athletics and D1 specifically, as it relates to student attraction and the overall success of the University.

I was recently going over some news posted on Valpo's Athletic site, specifically looking for news of new players coming into probably Valpo's least successful programs--at the present--that being the softball program.  Last year we were forced to replace a coach well after the recruiting time had past and because the coach left so late we lost some players who had committed to that coach.  As a result we played the season with less than a full roster and ended up not only in last place but games weren't really even close contests.  Thus, my reason to see if we might expect some improvement via new players.

What I found was what is present across all sports at Valpo.  Players come from all across the nation because of two things--the academic reputation of Valpo and, MOST importantly, playing D1 athletics.  Valpo has athletes from over 30 states. I seriously doubt we would draw from out of the serounding states were we not in D1.

When asked why one softball player from California chose Valpo, she said: "I selected Valpo for the small-town feel and the opportunity to continue playing softball while obtaining an education from one of the best-rated colleges for computer science! I am excited to be part of the Valpo family and play Division I softball!"



Valpo athletes represent about 20% of the entire student population.

[valpopal]

Which brings me back to The Cresset. You are likely correct that the cost was very low, but there are two questions that would need to be considered for whether Valpo should start it again. 1. What was the subscription revenue prior to The Cresset being stopped? (note here that I am not even saying the revenues need to cover costs, I am really just trying to judge the interest...1000 subscribers has a much greater impact than 100 subscribers, 2. Are there people willing to regularly write content for free? On this second point, I have seen great periodicals in which faculty write articles (University of Chicago), but I have seen many more cases where faculty don't consider it a priority. Admittedly, my perspective is on the engineering and business sides - so maybe motivations are different in liberal arts.

I have edited university journals, print and online, for more than 40 years. I also served as a columnist for The Cresset for 7 years. I can assure you that the cost of resuming publication of the journal would be minimal, and the decision to restart The Cresset is merely a matter of will.

It would return as an online journal, which would eliminate the major costs of paper, printing, distribution, mailing, etc. The Valparaiso University e-publication precedent and program are already in place at no cost to The Cresset (see https://scholar.valpo.edu/). The Cresset was already publishing companion online versions of its issues when the hiatus happened, and the journal's entire archives are available through Valpo Scholar as well. Check The Cresset Valpo Scholar page: https://scholar.valpo.edu/cresset_archive/

The editor could be compensated with a reduction in teaching load and a small stipend. In the academic arts and literature fields, it is commonplace for authors to submit articles to publications for no pay, merely for the prestige and credit, which can be added to a curriculum vita. The same is often true for assistant editors willing to serve as peer readers. Students can even be added as interns to help with everyday matters.

To view some other journals at Valparaiso University following this model: https://scholar.valpo.edu/peer_review_list.html

[vu84v2]

Which brings me back to The Cresset. You are likely correct that the cost was very low, but there are two questions that would need to be considered for whether Valpo should start it again. 1. What was the subscription revenue prior to The Cresset being stopped? (note here that I am not even saying the revenues need to cover costs, I am really just trying to judge the interest...1000 subscribers has a much greater impact than 100 subscribers, 2. Are there people willing to regularly write content for free? On this second point, I have seen great periodicals in which faculty write articles (University of Chicago), but I have seen many more cases where faculty don't consider it a priority. Admittedly, my perspective is on the engineering and business sides - so maybe motivations are different in liberal arts.

I have edited university journals, print and online, for more than 40 years. I also served as a columnist for The Cresset for 7 years. I can assure you that the cost of resuming publication of the journal would be minimal, and the decision to restart The Cresset is merely a matter of will.

It would return as an online journal, which would eliminate the major costs of paper, printing, distribution, mailing, etc. The Valparaiso University e-publication precedent and program are already in place at no cost to The Cresset (see https://scholar.valpo.edu/). The Cresset was already publishing companion online versions of its issues when the hiatus happened, and the journal's entire archives are available through Valpo Scholar as well. Check The Cresset Valpo Scholar page: https://scholar.valpo.edu/cresset_archive/

The editor could be compensated with a reduction in teaching load and a small stipend. In the academic arts and literature fields, it is commonplace for authors to submit articles to publications for no pay, merely for the prestige and credit, which can be added to a curriculum vita. The same is often true for assistant editors willing to serve as peer readers. Students can even be added as interns to help with everyday matters.

To view some other journals at Valparaiso University following this model: https://scholar.valpo.edu/peer_review_list.html

valpopal - If you have someone willing to be the editor, I recommend making that pitch. It does sound like academics in your areas are a little more willing to write articles for no pay (just prestige and credit) than in my areas (note: in my areas, there are a lot of other options for contribution that do not generate additional pay - editorships and reviewing for academic journals, articles in media or practitioner-oriented periodicals, etc.).

I will point out that the PlumX metrics on the link you provided show total downloads for articles ranging from 8 to 35 (35 for the last edition). My guess is that the low counts are because the vast majority of access has been via hard copies, but you need to address perceptions regarding interest.

[valpopal]

Which brings me back to The Cresset. You are likely correct that the cost was very low, but there are two questions that would need to be considered for whether Valpo should start it again. 1. What was the subscription revenue prior to The Cresset being stopped? (note here that I am not even saying the revenues need to cover costs, I am really just trying to judge the interest...1000 subscribers has a much greater impact than 100 subscribers, 2. Are there people willing to regularly write content for free? On this second point, I have seen great periodicals in which faculty write articles (University of Chicago), but I have seen many more cases where faculty don't consider it a priority. Admittedly, my perspective is on the engineering and business sides - so maybe motivations are different in liberal arts.

I have edited university journals, print and online, for more than 40 years. I also served as a columnist for The Cresset for 7 years. I can assure you that the cost of resuming publication of the journal would be minimal, and the decision to restart The Cresset is merely a matter of will.

It would return as an online journal, which would eliminate the major costs of paper, printing, distribution, mailing, etc. The Valparaiso University e-publication precedent and program are already in place at no cost to The Cresset (see https://scholar.valpo.edu/). The Cresset was already publishing companion online versions of its issues when the hiatus happened, and the journal's entire archives are available through Valpo Scholar as well. Check The Cresset Valpo Scholar page: https://scholar.valpo.edu/cresset_archive/

The editor could be compensated with a reduction in teaching load and a small stipend. In the academic arts and literature fields, it is commonplace for authors to submit articles to publications for no pay, merely for the prestige and credit, which can be added to a curriculum vita. The same is often true for assistant editors willing to serve as peer readers. Students can even be added as interns to help with everyday matters.

To view some other journals at Valparaiso University following this model: https://scholar.valpo.edu/peer_review_list.html

valpopal - If you have someone willing to be the editor, I recommend making that pitch. It does sound like academics in your areas are a little more willing to write articles for no pay (just prestige and credit) than in my areas (note: in my areas, there are a lot of other options for contribution that do not generate additional pay - editorships and reviewing for academic journals, articles in media or practitioner-oriented periodicals, etc.).

I will point out that the PlumX metrics on the link you provided show total downloads for articles ranging from 8 to 35 (35 for the last edition). My guess is that the low counts are because the vast majority of access has been via hard copies, but you need to address perceptions regarding interest.

I can assure you that the administration is aware of the above information and about campus candidates willing to serve as editor. As for the download counts, the 36 I see for the last issue is only downloads since 2/10/22 for an issue that was published in February of 2020. The ongoing downloads for The Cresset are 138 in the last 30 days and more than 2,500 in the last year, again for a journal that hasn't published a new issue in more than 3 years and when subscribers received print copies. On the other hand, Valpo Scholar journals overall have had about 750,000 downloads in the past year and more than 6,250,000 total.

[vu84v2]

valpopal - Thanks for the added detail. I suspected that the download data that I saw was incomplete.