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May 31, 2012

Letters

envelopeTo the editor:

The University of Pittsburgh is a leader in producing cutting-edge research. The National Science Foundation (NSF) recently ranked Pitt among the top five for federally funded R&D spending in the United States. While we are clearly able to secure funding and carry out excellent work, our true impact is hindered by the inability of researchers and the public to access the results of our efforts. As budgets tighten and journal prices continue to rise, institutions are forced to cut back and lose access to the publications that we produce. The 2008 National Institutes of Health (NIH) public access mandate has made some of our research broadly available to the taxpayers who paid for it. Currently, no such mandates exist for funders like NSF or the Department of Education. In many cases, our publicly funded research results remain indefinitely detained by for-profit publishers.

A growing “open access” movement has galvanized around this issue and it is time for us to voice our support for broader availability of the important research that U.S. taxpayers have paid Pitt to carry out. By June 19, the Access2Research.org  petition needs at least 25,000 signatures to make its way to the White House administration. More signatures create a greater impact and a better chance of sharing Pitt’s results with more researchers, educators, students and the taxpayers who paid for it. In the five minutes spent endorsing and sharing this petition, you will make a lasting contribution and help to further establish Pitt as a leader in bringing research to the people who benefit from it.

Our plea is especially timely because the Federal Research Public Access Act of 2012 (FRPAA) is now under review by the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, thanks in part to our very own Congressman Mike Doyle. Not only have we found a common voice, but we have viable legislation to enact real change.

I welcome the Pitt community to contact me with questions about open access publishing (or to visit my blog at colditzjb.wordpress.com). There are a wealth of options and resources available that I am happy to share.  In any event, I do hope that you will take a moment to endorse the petition here: http://wh.gov/6TH.

Jason B. Colditz

Research Coordinator

WPIC

Graduate Student and Alumnus ’07

JBC28@pitt.edu

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University Times letters policy

Letters should be submitted at least one week prior to publication. Persons criticized in a letter will receive a copy of the letter so that they may prepare a response. If no response is received, the letter will be published alone.

Letters can be sent by e-mail to njbrown@pitt.edu or by campus mail to 308 Bellefield Hall.

The University Times reserves the right to edit letters for clarity or length. Individuals are limited to two published letters per academic term. Unsigned letters will not be accepted for publication.


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