Letter to Thomson Learning Signed by 200 Physics Faculty

This letter calls on textbook publisher Thomson Learning to stop issuing new editions of its widely-used introductory physics books until there is significantly new content to justify a revision.

April 7, 2005

Ronald Schlosser
CEO
Thomson Learning, Inc.
290 Harbor Drive
Stamford, CT 06902

Dear Mr. Schlosser

We, the undersigned physics faculty, are writing to express our concern with the cost of your undergraduate physics textbook and to respectfully request that your company take some simple steps to alleviate this problem.

As you know, the cost of college textbooks has risen considerably in the last few years. A recent survey by the student Public Interest Research Groups found that students are now paying an average of $900 a year for textbooks, which amounts to a fifth of in-state tuition at a four-year university and half of tuition at a community college. With other college costs rising as well, we are concerned about students' ability to either pay for college or to fully take advantage of all of the educational opportunities available to them while at college.

Naturally, we would like to ensure that textbooks are priced as fairly as possible, and we are concerned with the cost of your introductory physics textbook -- Physics for Scientists and Engineers, 6e, by Serway. We are generally satisfied with the actual content of the text. We are concerned, however, with a number of items:

1. The previous edition of the book (5e) was out on the market for only four years before you produced the most current edition (6e), in 2004. While textbook editions must be updated periodically to reflect new teaching methods and so forth, we do not believe that the content of this particular update justified an entirely new edition. This is especially the case when one takes into account the additional expense new editions create for many students and the additional time faculty members must take to revise syllabi and other instructional materials to accommodate the changes to the text.

2. Your website offers the book for $134.96 in the United States, but the equivalent of $72.43 in the U.K., African and the Middle East. We see no reasonable explanation for such a pricing disparity.

We respectfully ask your company to do the following:

1. Continue to publish the current edition of this textbook until there has been significantly new content in the field of this branch of physics, applications of this branch of physics, and/or the teaching of this branch of physics that would justify an update.

2. For the foreseeable future, offer new problem sets, tutorials and other ancillary teaching aids as an optional supplement that faculty may choose to order.

3. Charge American students a fairer price for this book, comparable to what their counterparts are being charged in other countries.

4. Ensure that your sales representatives distribute materials that include all of your textbooks and related instructional materials, their prices, and the length of time you intend to keep these products on the market.

College costs have risen dramatically in the past year. Subsequently, we believe that quick action must be taken to reduce students' costs in as many ways as reasonably possible, and so we request your urgent action on this matter.

We will be encouraging our colleagues to base our departments' future textbook orders on both the quality of the text and on the fairness of the text's price. We hope that we can continue a relationship with your company for many years to come.

Sincerely,

A. J. Stewart Smith
Stanford University

Adam Keith Leibovich
University of Pittsburgh

Alex Weiss
University of Texas Arlington

Ali R. Koymen
University of Texas Arlington

Allen Miller
Syracuse University

Alvin K. Benson
Utah Valley State College

Ami Berkowitz
University of California San Diego

Ana Cadavid
California State University Northridge

Andrea Markelz
State University of New York Buffalo

Anthony Shoup
University of California Irvine

Arno Bohm
University of Texas Austin

B. Hawkins
Smith College

Baki Brahmia
Rutgers University

Barrett Rogers
Dartmouth College

Bernd Bassalleck
University of New Mexico

Bing An Li
University of Kentucky

Brent Bargeron
Utah Valley State College

Brian Saam
University of Utah

Bruce Bunker
University of Notre Dame

Bruce M. Law
Kansas State University

Bruce Richards
Oberlin College

C. Y. Hu
California State University Long Beach

Carlton M. Caves
University of New Mexico

Cassandra Fesen
Dartmouth College

Charles De Leone
California State University - San Marcos

Charles Ray Newsom
University of Iowa

Chester Alexander
University of Alabama

Chi Yu Hu
California State University Long Beach

Chih-Yung Chien
Johns Hopkins University

Chun-Min Lo
University of South Florida

Claude Garrod
University of California Davis

Dan Dale
University of Kentucky

Dan Stinebring
Federighi Professor of Physics & Astronomy
Oberlin College

Daniel Arovas
University of California San Diego

Daniel Ferenc
University of California Davis

Daniel Finley
University of New Mexico

Daniel V. Schroeder
Weber State University

Daniel-Dennis Bubb
Seton Hall University

Dave Dorfan
University of California Santa Cruz

David Abbott
Dartmouth College

David Tytler
University of California San Diego

David Webb
University of California Davis

Deborah Kuchnir Fygenson
University of California Santa Barbara

Dennis Gilbert
Lane Community College

Donald Cox
University of Wisconsin Madison

Dr. Chris Taylor
California State University Sacramento

Dr. David Donnelly
Texas State University San Marcos

Dr. Edward Gibson
California State University Sacramento

Dr. Gerhard G. Paulus
Texas A&M University

Dr. Heather C. Galloway
Texas State University San Marcos

Dr. Ir. Wilhelmus J. Geerts
Texas State University San Marcos

Dr. Vassili Sergan
California State University Sacramento

Dr. William Keller
St. Petersburg College

Edward Chang
University of Massachusetts

Amherst Elliott Horch
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Francesc Roig
University of California Santa Barbara

Francine Jackson
Framingham State University

Fred Kuttner
University of California Santa Cruz

Friedmann Freund
San Jose State University

Gang Cao
University of Kentucky

Gang Lu
California State University Northridge

Gary Mankey
University of Alabama

Geoffrey Burbridge
University of California San Diego

George Kattawar
Texas A&M University

Gregory F. Spencer
Texas State University San Marcos

Harald Ade
North Carolina State University

Harold Ogren
Indiana University Bloomington

Howard Grotch
University of Kentucky

Howard Tucker
University of California Irvine

Hugon Karwowski
University of North Carolina Chapel Hill

Humphrey Maris
Brown University

Ido Braslavsky
Ohio University

Ion Stancu
University of Alabama

J. Schroeder, Ph.D.
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

J. Woods Halley
University of Minnesota

J.W. Harrell
University of Alabama

James Branson
University of California San Diego

James Horwitz
University of Texas Arlington

Jim Stewart
Western Washington University

Joe Becker
San Jose State University

John Beggs
Indiana University Bloomington

John Rundle
University of California Davis

John Scofield
Oberlin College

John W. Harris
Yale University

Jose Perez
University of North Texas

Kaushik De
University of Texas Arlington

Keith Ruddick
University of Minnesota

Keith Waxman
San Francisco State University

Ken Bloom
University of Nebraska Lincoln

Kevin Cahill
University of New Mexico

Kiumars Parvin
San Jose State University

Lee Chow
University of Central Florida

Leon Gunther
Tufts University

Liton Corruccini
University of California Davis

M. Zarrillo
University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

Mansor Sheik-Bahae
University of New Mexico

Marcelo Gleiser
Dartmouth College

Marco Peloso
University of Minnesota

Marllin Simon
Auburn University

Martin Guthold
Wake Forest University

Marvin Morris
San Jose State University

Masahiro Morii
Harvard University

Massimiliano Di Ventra
University of California San Diego

Maxim Marchevsky
Syracuse University

Maxwell Chertok
University of California Davis

Melinda Keller
Oberlin College

Melvin Okamura
University of California San Diego

Michael Dennin
University of California Irvine

Michael Dubson
Colorado University Boulder

Michael Geller
University of Georgia

Miles Blencowe
Dartmouth College

N.A.W. Holzwarth
Wake Forest University

Neda Safi
University of California Los Angeles

Nemanja Kaloper
University of California Davis

Noah Finkelstein
Colorado University Boulder

Patrick Hamill
San Jose State University

Paul Heiney
University of Pennsylvania

Paul Leath
Rutgers University

Paul M. Eugenio
Florida State University

Paul Umbanhowar
Northwestern University

Peter Koehler
University of Pittsburgh

Peter Leung
Portland State University

Peter McIntyre
Texas A&M University

Peter Timbie
University of Wisconsin Madison

Peter Wu
Southern Oregon University

Phil Matheson
Utah Valley State College

Philip M. Yager
University of California Davis

Phillip Morrison
University of Texas Austin

Pieter Visscher
University of Alabama

Prem Kumar
Northwestern University

Qiming Zhang
University of Texas Arlington

R. Marcus Price
University of New Mexico

Rainer Schad
University of Alabama

Rainer Wallny
University of California Los Angeles

Ranjan Dharmapalan
University of Alabama

Rich Ateneosen
Western Washington University

Richard Lander
University of California Davis

Richard Rees
Westfield State College

Richard Scalettar
University of California Davis

Robert Antonucci
University of California Santa Barbara

Robert Caldwell
Dartmouth College

Robert Fesen
Dartmouth College

Robert G. Brown
Duke University

Sergei Obukhov
University of Florida

Sergio Fabi
University of Alabama

Shahriar Abachi
University of California Los Angeles

S.M. Bhagat
University of Maryland

Steve Barwick
University of California Irvine

Steven Carlip
University of California Davis

Steven Cowley
University of California Los Angeles

Sudha Srinivas
Central Michigan University

Susan Coppersmith
University of Wisconsin Madison

Tatiana Sergan
California State University Sacramento

Thomas Cahill
University of California Davis

Timothy G. Heil
University of Georgia

Todd Baker
University of Georgia

Tracy Hodge
Salem State College

Truman Black
University of Texas Arlington

Valery Kiryukhin
Rutgers University

Vandana Singh
Framingham State University

Vijay Raja
Bristol Community College

Viorica Cristina Bena
University of California Los Angeles

Vitaly Kresin
University of Southern California

Volker Crede
Florida State University

Warren Pickett
University of California Davis

Wayne Saslow
Texas A&M University

Wendell Potter
Vice Chair
University of California Davis

William Belanger
Worchester State College

William M. Yen
University of Georgia

Xiangdong Zhu
University of California Davis

Xiao-Lun Wu
University of Pittsburgh

Y. Jack Ng
University of North Carolina

Yasar Onel
University of Iowa

Yee Jack Ng
University of North Carolina

Yongzhong Qian
University of Minnesota

Yu Lin
Auburn University

Yuri Sushko
University of Kentucky

Zachary Fisk
University of California Davis

Zack Schleisinger
University of California Santa Cruz

Zdzislaw Musielak
University of Texas Arlington