The council's resolution also notes that it's public policy in Virginia for public colleges to encourage their faculty to research and write books and articles, and it's common for the authors to retain the copyrights. Scholars stay on top of their field by writing about it, defenders of the practice say. Whatever resources scholars use, colleges are repaid several times over in prestige from having their faculty publish books. He's published a good deal. But it's difficult to place Bunting's books squarely within the bounds of academic publishing.
Most academic books are on specialized topics and publish only a few hundred copies.
Bunting's supporters say the book, while not scholarly research, is academic in nature and in line with his job. On the surface, the books look like cases of using public resources for private profit, but in Virginia, state law gives special privilege to colleges in that regard. Each college sets its own policy. So whether Bunting did anything wrong is up to the board of directors he serves. Virginia's law on the matter dates to 1986, and commands each state-supported college in Virginia to promulgate its own copyright and patent policy, based upon guidelines provided by the State Council of Higher Education.