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Thanks,
Lisa Deitz, Principal Museum Preparator
Department of Anthropology, University of California, Davis
HELP SAVE RESEARCH AT THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION:
PROTEST THE CUT OF SCMRE AND THE REORGANIZATION OF SI
RESEARCH
The Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education (SCMRE) is
slated to be
eliminated as of December 31, 2001 and its research program terminated.
The Center,
established in 1963, is a world leader in preserving cultural heritage
by conducting
archaeological materials research and conservation studies and by
training hundreds of
researchers from the U.S. and over 40 countries in conservation,
preservation, and materials
research.
Smithsonian Secretary Lawrence Small is asking Congress for an increase
in the SI 2002 budget of 8.1%, or
$40 million. The total request amount for fiscal 2002 is $494 million.
Small’s proposed budget
cuts within SI would eliminate SCMRE, which has 37 job slots, only 29 of
which are now filled
due to a previous freeze on hiring.
The justification for these cuts is that these activities and programs
are claimed to be unnecessary and do not contribute to the SI and its
"new" research priorities. Closing SCMRE is a clear statement by SI
upper management that they do not value studies contributing to the
long-term preservation of SI collections.
WHAT THE LOSS OF SCMRE MEANS:
World Leader In Preserving Cultural Heritage: A unique research
laboratory for materials
analysis and preservation of cultural patrimony whose researchers have
published over 1000
journal articles. Among SCMRE’s many successes have been establishment
of standards for
museum climatology, objects transport, photographic preservation, the
storage of natural history
specimens, and archival collections.
Conservation Window To The World: For 15 years, SCMRE has sponsored a
program of Pre-
and Post-Doctoral Fellowships in Archaeology and Materials Analysis, and
yearly internships for
conservators. Active programs with over 10 universities in the U.S. and
enduring relationships
with archaeologists, conservators, and museum professionals in more than
200 institutions in 40
nations.
Cutting Edge Technologies And Partnerships To Study Archaeological
Artifacts And
Materials: Through 28 years of experience, SCMRE has pioneered in trace
element analysis of
over 25,000 artifacts to source and provenance materials, to establish
provenance of goods used
for trade and tribute, and to establish trade patterns in the Americas,
Asia, and Africa.
Thousands of chemical and microstructual studies of ceramic, glass, and
metal artifacts from
hundred of archaeological sites have led to the understanding and
reconstruction of many
prehistoric and historic technologies.
Reduction In Educational Opportunities: Scientific research has been
disseminated in the
fields of museum climatology, ancient DNA, preservation of blood
residues, trace element
studies, technological studies, conservation of cultural icons and
artifacts now exhibited in
several national museums, as well as conservation and materials analysis
training. SCMRE staff
have taught in interdisciplinary pilot programs in local high schools
that are designed to link art,
archaeology, and science to empirical practice.
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO PROTEST THE CUT OF SCMRE
Before May 7, You Can Express Your Protest By Writing To The SI Board Of
Regents
Who Must Approve Secretary Small’s Proposed Budget Cuts.
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist
Supreme Court of the United States
1 First Street, N.E.
Washington, D.C. 20001
The Honorable Thad Cochran
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Bill Frist
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Patrick Leahy
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510
The Honorable Robert Matsui
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Ralph Regula
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
The Honorable Sam Johnson
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C. 20515
Anne d’Harnoncourt
Director, Philadelphia Museum of Art
Benjamin Franklin Parkway and 26th Street
Philadelphia, PA. 19130
Manuel Ibanez
7737 Starnberg Lake Drive
Corpus Christi, TX. 78413
Dr. Walter Massey
President, Morehouse College
830 Westview Drive SW
Atlanta, GA 30314
Homer Neal
Director, ATLAS Project
University of Michigan
Physics Dept., 375 West Hall
Ann Arbor, MI 48109
Howard Baker
810 Penn. Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20090
Alan Spoon
7300 Loch Edin Ct.
Potomac, MD 20854
Hanna Gray
University of Chicago
501 So. Ellis Ave.
Chicago, IL. 60637
Barber Conable
The World Bank
1818 H St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20433
Wesley Williams
7706 Ga. Ave., NW
Washington, D.C. 20090
Below is a letter that was sent by SAA president Bob Kelly to all
members of SI’s Board of
Regents
Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist
Supreme Court of the United States, 1 1st St., NE
Washington, D.C.
Honorable Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist:
I am writing to you as President of the Society for American
Archaeology (SAA), a
Section 501 (c) (3) organization that was founded in 1934 and is
incorporated in the District of
Columbia. With more than 6600 members, SAA is the leading professional
organization of
archaeologists in the United States. Among the Society’s primary
objectives is advocacy of the
protection of archaeological resources and promotion of research on the
archaeology of the
Americas.
I am writing to ask that the Smithsonian Institution Board of Regents
not terminate the
Smithsonian Center for Materials Research and Education (SCMRE). For
nearly 40 years the
SCMRE has been a leader in preserving cultural heritage and in advancing
research into world
prehistory. It has trained hundreds of researchers in the U.S. and some
40 other countries. The
SCMRE has been instrumental in establishing standards for museum archive
and storage climate
controls, object transport, and photographic preservation, as well as
DNA analysis, preservation
of blood residue, trace element studies and conservation of cultural
icons. It has presented over
500 training courses for conservators, and has sponsored a series of
pre-and post-doctoral
fellowships in Archaeology and Materials Analysis for 15 years. The
Center pioneered research
into trace element analysis, and has conducted research projects for
nearly 30 years into
prehistoric exchange and trade in the Americas, Africa and Asia. There
is no other comparable
center in the U.S. Indeed, research projects all over the world will
suffer if the SCMRE is
dismantled.
In 1829 the English scientist James Smithson left his fortune to the
people of the United
States to found an institution for the "increase and diffusion of
knowledge." The “diffusion” of
knowledge speaks to the Smithsonian’s educational mandate, and the
“increase” in knowledge
speaks to its research mandate. Smithson wisely saw that research
without education is
worthless, and that education without research is stifling. The SCMRE
is an essential part of the
Smithsonian’s research mandate. The Society for American Archaeology
urges in the strongest
terms possible that the Smithsonian Board of Regents retain the Center
for Materials Research
and Education.
Sincerely,
Robert L. Kelly, Ph.D.
President, Society for American Archaeology
If you have any questions or need additional information, please contact
me at SAA.
Donald Forsyth Craib
Manager, Government Affairs, and Counsel
Society for American Archaeology
202.789.8200
202.789.0284-fax
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