A: Ron Pynn, TAA executive director: Some years ago TAA members considered the issue of faculty assigning their own texts to students and then collecting royalties. Some members were concerned about the co-dependent relationship of students, making them read what you wrote and then profiting from it. An equal if not greater number of members said they wrote their text because it was better than what existed, fit their instructional methods more appropriately, and gave better information. Their text had been accepted by a publisher, meaning it had been reviewed for quality and pedagogy; chapters and the entire manuscript were blind reviewed by colleagues. In short, the text passed muster in the reviewing process such that students and institutions could have confidence in the quality (as much as is possible) and faculty were not imposing inferior or substandard material in the name of greed. As for profit, if the author writes a good book, the publisher sees profit in its publication, then why should the author be denied a fair share. The convention ultimately decided to take no position or action, leaving it up to individual faculty to decide the ethics of personal class use of one's own text. We clearly did not see it wrong or inappropriate. Never, however, should faculty be penalized for success and accomplishment. Yet to donate all royalties, including pre-taxed funds and FICA is unfair. Faculty should be allowed to deduct expenses, including taxes, from any funds donated. This TAA can and should be clear about and we can take this stand.

> Pynn writes in political science.

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