Taylor's informal opinion was requested by the president of VMI's board of visitors. The resolution cited state law that directs each state college to set its own policy regarding the use of resources. Council members were concerned the investigation could have a chilling effect on scholarly research and about public understanding that academics publish books using college resources all the time. Saunders declined to comment on the resolution. 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.