Laurie C. Matheson Endowment for American Music

Photograph by L. Brian Stauffer

In recognition of Dr. Laurie C. Matheson’s exceptional leadership and transformative contributions to the University of Illinois Press and the broader academic community have established the Laurie C. Matheson Endowment for American Music. With initial gifts totaling $70,000, including deferred support through planned giving, this fund will sustain her legacy in perpetuity.

Over nearly three decades at the University of Illinois Press—the past ten years as Director—Dr. Matheson has profoundly shaped the Press’s identity and impact. She acquired literally hundreds of groundbreaking titles, most notably in the acclaimed Music in American Life series, which chronicles the interplay between music and American culture. Under her guidance, the Press published works that have won prestigious awards and redefined scholarly conversations, including Chinatown Theater in North America by Nancy Rao, Queer Country by Shana Goldin-Perschbacher, and Spirituals and the Birth of a Black Entertainment Industry by Sandra Jean Graham.

Dr. Matheson also guided the Press through a period of significant change in scholarly publishing. Her accomplishments include securing a $200,000 NEH grant to expand UI Press’s e-book catalog; launching a pilot program to broaden journal access via the Consortium of Academic and Research Libraries in Illinois; spearheading the adoption of a modern publishing database; and dozens of initiatives in diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Perhaps most importantly, Dr. Matheson recommitted the Press to its public. She built, in her own words, “new models and resources to connect with multiple audiences.” Her legacy is a press for the future, a press grounded in scholarship but devoted to service, to outreach, to community.

Books supported by this fund: