Stanford to shutter publishing course

Stanford University is shuttering its Publishing Course for Professionals after more than 30 years, citing the recession along with changes in the advertising industry and in reading habits brought about by the Internet.

According to a Publishers Marketplace subscription-only report, the move comes in the wake of significant cost-cutting at the Palo Alto, Calif., university, which suffered a 27 percent drop in endowment capital over the past fiscal year. The piece also noted that paid attendance at the program, which has been training publishing and magazine professionals since 1978, reportedly tumbled last year.

Program director Holly Brady, who is leaving Stanford, told Publishers Marketplace that "the problem that got us here is, of course, the digital transformation of the business, which has caused so many layoffs in the publishing industry, coupled with the recession. When a company has laid off dozens of people and is struggling to survive itself, it's hard to
send staffers to Stanford."

Posted by Paul S. Makishima, Globe staff