The Chronicle of Higher Education picked up an article in the Orange County Register http://www.ocregister.com/articles/bourget-688288-math-book.html describing the trouble a faculty member ran into when he decided to assign less expensive ($76 and free) textbooks for a mathematics class that traditionally used a text co-authored by the department chair ($180). Conflict of interest, tradition, and lack of awareness of the financial impact on students , are all presented in this story. The faculty member is grieving the reprimand he received. It is hoped that this will be a win for putting the student first when making textbook choices.
