Sara Miller McCune (born 1941) is an American businesswoman and philanthropist. She is the co-founder and chair emeritus of Sage (formerly

SAGE Publishing Sage Publishing, formerly SAGE Publications, is an American Independent business, independent Academic publishing, academic publishing company, founded in 1965 in New York City by Sara Miller McCune and now based in the Newbury Park, California, ...

Early life

McCune was born the elder of two siblings in a middle-class

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. She was international president of

B'nai B'rith Girls BBYO is a Jewish teen movement, organized as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and headquartered in Washington, D.C. The organization is intended to build the identity of Jewish teens and offer leadership development programs. On June 19, 2001, ...

at the age of 19, and has spoken of the importance of

tzedakah ''Tzedakah'' ( ''ṣədāqā'', ) is a Hebrew word meaning "righteousness", but commonly used to signify ''charity''. This concept of "charity" differs from the modern Western understanding of "charity". The latter is typically understood as ...

Career

In 1965, McCune founded the independent academic publishing company Sage in New York City with

Macmillan Publishers Macmillan Publishers (occasionally known as the Macmillan Group; formally Macmillan Publishers Ltd in the United Kingdom and Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC in the United States) is a British publishing company traditionally considered to be on ...

executive George D. McCune as a "mentor"; the name of the company is an acronym formed from the first letters of their given names. Sage relocated to Southern California in 1966, after the two married; George McCune left Macmillan to formally join Sage at that time. Sara Miller McCune remained president for 18 years, shifting to board chairman in 1984; retaining the title of executive chairman. The couple continued to develop the company together until George McCune's death in 1990. In 2021 McCune signed over her voting shares and control of the company to the SAGE-SMM Trust, citing this as a strategy to ensure Sage remains independent.

Philanthropy

McCune has funded schools in the developing world, and made contributions to California organizations and educational establishments, including $2.5 million to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, $3.5 million to found the SAGE Center For the Study of the Mind at

UCSB The University of California, Santa Barbara (UC Santa Barbara or UCSB) is a public land-grant research university in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Tracing its roots back to 1891 as an independent teachers college, UCSB joine ...

, and over $5 million to the Granada Theater Restoration Project. She is also a trustee and supporter of the UCSB Foundation She founded the charitable McCune Foundation in 1990. In 2003, she received the ''Spirit of Entrepreneurship'' award at the Entrepreneur of the Year awards, sponsored by Ernst and Young. Women’s Campaign International (WCI) recently honored her at an event entitled ''Shattering The Glass Ceiling: Honoring Inspirational Women Around The Globe''. In 2007, McCune founded the Miller-McCune Center for Research, Media and Public Policy in Santa Barbara, California, and serves as its executive chairman. In 2008, she announced the launch of ''

Miller-McCune ''Pacific Standard'', founded as ''Miller–McCune'', was an American nonprofit magazine that reported on issues of social and environmental justice. Founded in 2008, the magazine was published in print and online for its first ten years. It was ...

'' magazine, published in print and online, by the nonprofit Miller McCune Center for Research, Media and Public Policy, with support from Sage. On February 21, 2012 the magazine rebranded as ''Pacific Standard''. In 2017, the magazine and the center’s mission were transferred to the newly launched Social Justice Foundation. On August 7, 2019, the editor of ''Pacific Standard'' reported that the magazine was closing, after Sage abruptly cut off funding. In 2014, she became a member of the distinguished Visiting Committee of the Social Science Research Council, based in New York City. In 2015, she established a fund for research methods at the Council. In 2017, she joined the Council’s board of directors.

Honors

In 2016, McCune received an honorary degree from

California State University Channel Islands California State University Channel Islands (CSUCI, CSU Channel Islands) is a public university in Ventura County, California. Located near the city of Camarillo, it opened in 2002 as the 23rd campus in the California State University system. ...

for her support for the arts, social issues and patronage and an honorary doctorate from

Sussex University The University of Sussex is a public research university located in Falmer, East Sussex, England. It lies mostly within the city boundaries of Brighton and Hove. Its large campus site is surrounded by the South Downs National Park, and provide ...

. She has also received honorary degrees from her alma mater, Queens College (CUNY), and the University of Bath, and been recognized as an honorary alumna of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an honorary fellow at both Cardiff University and Pembroke College, Oxford. In 2014, McCune was named as one of ''

Folio The term "folio" () has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging Paper size, sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for ...

''s 100 Visionaries. In 2016, McCune received the Rock Star: Lifetime Achievement Award from the Spirit of Entrepreneurship Foundation. In 2017, McCune was recognized and honored by the Association of Learned and Professional Society Publishers for her contribution to scholarly publishing. and in 2018, she was awarded the London Book Fair Lifetime Achievement Award in recognition of her 50-plus years working within the publishing industry. She was elected to the

American Philosophical Society The American Philosophical Society (APS) is an American scholarly organization and learned society founded in 1743 in Philadelphia that promotes knowledge in the humanities and natural sciences through research, professional meetings, publicat ...

in 2018.

References

External links

McCune Foundation
* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCune, Sara Miller Living people Businesspeople from Manhattan Members of the American Philosophical Society Philanthropists from New York (state) 1941 births Social Science Research Council 20th-century American publishers (people) 21st-century American publishers (people) 20th-century American businesswomen 20th-century American businesspeople 21st-century American businesswomen 21st-century American businesspeople 20th-century American philanthropists 21st-century American philanthropists Businesspeople from New York City 21st-century American Jews 21st-century American women philanthropists 20th-century American women philanthropists California State University, Channel Islands people People associated with the University of Sussex