March
14, 2005
TAA President
Interviewed by GAO
TAA President Mike
Sullivan was interviewed by the Government Accountability Office last
week as part of a GAO probe into the cost of college textbooks. The
GAO is a government office that researches issues for Congress. The
one-hour interview began with an overview of TAA and its mission, and
then went on to cover issues such as publisher/author contracts, the
revision process, royalty rates and revision cycles. "I took the opportunity
to share with them the practice of faculty selling complimentary copies
and the practice of bookstores' 35 percent markup on new books and 50
percent plus on used books," said Sullivan.
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Study Recommends
Textbook Adoption Reform
A study conducted
by the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, a nonprofit organization that conducts
research, issues publications and directs action projects in elementary/secondary
education reform at the national level and in Dayton, Ohio, recommends
several reforms to the current textbook adoption process. The current
textbook adoption process, according to the study, is controlled by
pressure groups trying to fulfill their own agendas; based on "absurd"
sensitivity guidelines and a flawed review process; and open only to
a select number of publishers with the money to follow the process.
The Institute recommends control of textbook purchases be given to individuals
schools, districts or teachers. To view the complete study, visit http://www.edexcellence.net/institute/publication/index.cfm
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2005 TAA Council
Candidates
Officers:
Vice President/President
Elect
Christopher R. Harris
Secretary
Ronald E. Pynn
Council Members
Tara Gray
Paul Rosenzweig
Mary Kay Switzer
Click
to download Candidate Bios and Position Statements PDF
Visit the Members
Only section to download a voting ballot.
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TAA President
Interviewed by GAO
TAA President Mike
Sullivan was interviewed by the Government Accountability Office last
week as part of a GAO probe into the cost of college textbooks. The
GAO is a government office that researches issues for Congress. The
one-hour interview began with an overview of TAA and its mission, and
then went on to cover issues such as publisher/author contracts, the
revision process, royalty rates and revision cycles. "I took the opportunity
to share with them the practice of faculty selling complimentary copies
and the practice of bookstores' 35 percent markup on new books and 50
percent plus on used books," said Sullivan.
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Become a TAA
Sponsor
As a way to thank
those advertisers who make a long-term commitment to supporting TAA
through an ad in its quarterly print newsletter, The Academic Author,
TAA is offering advertisers who commit to placing an ad in the print
newsletter for four consecutive issues, sponsorship status on its website.
Advertisers who
commit to placing a full-page or half-page ad in the print newsletter
would be listed as a "Featured TAA Sponsor" on the TAA website home
page for three months. The listing would include the sponsor's company
name and logo and a link to the sponor's own website. At the end of
the three months, the Featured TAA Sponsor would be moved to a special
"TAA Sponsors" section on the website for another three months.
Advertisers who
commit to placing any ad smaller than a half-page ad, would be listed
in the TAA Sponsors section on the TAA website for six months. The listing
would include the sponsor's company name and logo and a link to the
sponsor's own website. Companies can also be listed in the TAA Sponsors
section without placing a print ad in the newsletter. The cost is $50
for six months.
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Advertising Manager
Hired
Lisa Thorsell has
been hired as TAA's new advertising manager. Thorsell is responsible
for securing advertising and handling advertising accounts for TAA's
print newsletter and website. If you would like to place an ad in The
Academic Author, or become a sponsor on the TAA website, contact Lisa
Thorsell at lisamt321@yahoo.com
or (608) 687-9525.
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TAA Seeks New
Executive Director
TAA is seeking a
new part-time executive director to lead the association as it embarks
upon a national growth initiative with the goal of becoming a major
institutional force in the world of text and academic authoring. The
new director will be encouraged to explore and bring forth new proposals
to help position the organization for growth and fiscal health. Remuneration
is $30,000 per year; but significant incentives are negotiable for meeting
performance and goal objectives. While the offices are currently in
St. Petersburg, Florida, the organization is open to relocation to any
college community in the United States. Application deadline is April
20, 2005. The full job posting follows:
----------
The Text and Academic
Authors Association (TAA) is a Florida not-for-profit organization committed
to the advancement of textbooks and academic authoring, and to the creation
of quality educational materials at every level. The organization is
seeking applications and nominations for the position of
EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
The director will
assume responsibility for the overall management of the organization.
This includes day-to-day operations, execution of Council priorities
and strategic plans, within a framework of approved policies and available
funds. The director will be encouraged to explore and bring forth new
proposals to help position the organization for growth and fiscal health.
Specific areas of
responsibility include: supervision of staff, budgeting, accounting,
membership recruitment, service, and retention, membership database
management, organization publications, member communication, public
relations, Web site, planning of events and national meetings, and development
of chapters.
While the offices
are currently in St. Petersburg, FL, the organization is open to relocation
to any college community in the United States.
The position presently
is half time. Remuneration is $30,000 per year. No benefits are currently
offered. However, TAA is embarking on a national growth initiative with
a goal of becoming a major institutional force in the world of text
and academic authoring. Significant incentives are negotiable for meeting
performance and growth objectives. Substantial growth will lead to a
full time directorship with commensurate pay and benefits.
To apply, please
send a letter of interest and a vita with references to Dr. Michael
Sullivan, President TAA 9529 S. Tripp, Oak Lawn, IL 60453-3234. E-mail
m_sullivan@att.net
Deadline for applications
is April 30, 2005. The Association anticipates a two-stage evaluation
process. It is expected that the initial pool of applicants will be
reduced and the remaining candidates will be invited to submit a proposal
outlining short- term strategies and goals for the Association. A final
decision is expected by July 1, 2005. Equal opportunity employer.
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TAA Seeks PI
for Potential Grant
The TAA Foundation
is seeking a TAA member to become the principal investigator (PI) for
a potential grant to study state adoption policies and practices for
textbooks. Financial incentives for the PI will be written into the
grant and the individual will work with a grant writer contracted to
the Foundation, thereby easing the grant preparation process. For more
information or to express interest, contact Michael Lennie at (619)
515-5456 or mlennie@aol.com
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Sound Off!
TAA is always looking
for columns on issues related to text and academic authoring (plagiarism;
used books; comp copies; contracts; royalties; journal submission guidelines,
etc.) for publication on the TAA website or in The Academic Author.
400-word maximum. Please send your name, title, school, college or university
affiliation (if any), phone number and e-mail address along with your
column to Kim Pawlak, Editor, kmpawlak@centurytel.net
or mail it to S2874 Spruce St., Fountain City, WI 54629 or call (608)
687-3106.
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Step Five to
Becoming a Prolific Scholar
Tara Gray, who will
present her popular writing workshop, "Publish and Flourish: Become
a Prolific Scholar" as a 10-hour pre-conference workshop at the TAA
convention in Las Vegas in June, shares the fourth step in becoming
a more prolific scholar (Gray will be sharing a step in each News Alert
leading up to the convention): Post your thesis on the wall and write
to it.
"When you sit down
to write, take a stab at describing what you're going to write about.
Start with something simple, your topic, just a word or a phrase even.
Then develop it into a sentence. Don't try to write the perfect sentence.
Just jot down something quickly. Know that this is a working thesis.
You can (and should) change it at any time. Ideally, you want a sentence
that is short and memorable and tells your reader what is at stake or
what problem you are trying to solve. Remember, you're not trying to
prove the point -- you have the rest of the paper to do that -- you
are just asserting it. Post your thesis on the wall and write to it.
Never, ever lose sight of it. Work back and forth between your thesis
and the rest of your paper -- revising first one and then the other.
Think of this as the purpose step: you are checking to see if everything
in your paper aligns with your purpose. Imagine your paper were a team
of horses and a cart and you were the driver. The cart would be the
purpose and each horse could represent a section of your paper. Each
leg of each horse could represent a paragraph. It is terribly important
that all the horses (and all the sections and all the paragraphs) are
pulling together in the direction that the cart is supposed to go. If
one horse or another is going off in another direction, it's time to
pull the whole cart over to the side of the road and have a chat with
the horse."
To register for
Gray's pre-convention workshop, click to download a registration form
here.
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