I am not sure whether this has been covered in the past but let me ask. If there is an answer here, it lies in the fair use concept. If presses insist on forcing their authors to get permission, then they will always be faced with unreasonable fees. If presses would be courageous and defend their right to publish without permission in these scholarly contexts, then the owner community would have to assume the financial burden of litigating.
Intimidation is cheap but litigation is expensive.
University presses as a group might join together with UMI in assuming the cost of any potential litigation that might arise out of less timid applications of fair use concepts.