The University of New Orleans issued a statement late Monday clarifying the "hiatus" it had declared for its university press. The university last month told the director of the press (the only full-time employee) that his job had been eliminated and that the press would be on "hiatus." The statement issued Monday says: "The UNO Press is not being closed. It is presently on a brief hiatus, during which time it will be accepting no new manuscripts while the administration reviews the UNO Press' business plan. The UNO Press plays an important role as a publisher of scholarly and literary books, and we hope it will return to full operation soon. All contracts that have been issued will be honored."