Save Ooligan!

I am posting to today to ask you, my wonderful readers, fellow publishing professionals, and book bloggers to ask you for help. As some of you know I am a graduate student at Portland State University studying Publishing and working in the Digital Content Department of the student-run publishing house Ooligan Press. Due to recent budget problems in the state university system, this amazing and unique program and press are on the chopping block. For various reasons including scarcity of English department resources and other bureaucratic squabbling, the publishing program is at risk of being compromised, if not cut entirely.

The students in the publishing program have started to organize a letter writing campaign to let the higher-ups and media know how valuable this program really is. I really hope that we can rise above the land-grabbing and internal competition for resources in order to find solutions that both save money and better serve the students of the entire English Department at PSU. We must ensure more equal distribution of resources in the department to prevent further erosion of the Ooligan publishing program.

There are currently 120 publishing students enrolled in the program – not only will Portland's vibrant literary community shrink if this program is cut, but publishers will have a smaller pool to pull qualified interns and employees from. Two recent articles in Publishers Weekly and Poets & Writers have also highlighted how unique and valuable our program is.

On a more personal note, I am preparing to graduate this spring and being in the Publishing Program and a part of Ooligan Press has been one of the most wonderful experiences of my life. It has been a great privilege to work with fellow students and faculty at Ooligan Press for the past two years. I know I am leaving with a degree that has absolutely prepared me to be successful in whatever path I choose.

I hope that you will want to help save this valuable program too. If you are interested in joining our letter writing campaign or finding out more about the Master’s in Publishing or Ooligan Press please email me at sarah.schmalzer@ooliganpress.pdx.edu for more information.

Thank you in advance for your efforts.