A Message from Stanford Provost, Persis Drell. April 30, 2019 Dear Faculty Colleagues, I want to thank all of you who have written me in the last few days about the news that the request of the Stanford University Press for five additional years of one-time support ($1.7 million per year) was not funded in this year’s budget process. While I expected that this decision would be a difficult one for some of you to hear, I did not anticipate it would touch such a deep nerve in the community of our humanities and social sciences colleagues. I would especially like to thank those who have explained how this has been interpreted by some as “a marginalization of the humanities at Stanford,” which is deeply regrettable and certainly not what was intended. My goal was, and continues to be, to find a financial model for the Press that is sustainable, builds upon the strengths of the Press, and ensures its success for years to come. Numerous years of one-time funding bridges do not make for a compelling path for the Press. I hope it will alleviate some of the concerns that have been expressed to clarify that I intend to make one-time funds available to the Press for FY20, at an amount up to $1.7 million, to help ensure a smooth transition to a sustainable future. Also, the Press, once it has a model that is sustainable, may request incremental general funds in the FY21 budget process. Finally, we anticipate that additional philanthropy can be attracted, particularly as the Press focuses on its considerable strengths. With these moves, our intent is to build a strong, sustainable Press organization at Stanford that serves the institutional and community needs into the future. Mike Keller and Alan Harvey are working to develop a sustainable financial model for the Press, and they will be supported by a faculty committee, chaired by Judy Goldstein, that will ensure faculty input in the process and will help the Press position itself for a strong future. The committee will provide quarterly updates to me. Again, let me thank the many of you who have written. Sincerely, Persis