I am forwarding this on behalf of colleagues at the Museum of Northern
Arizona.
Please do not respond to this message, but to the people and institutions
listed
at the bottom of the message.
Dear Friends and Supporters:
Saturday, March 15, 2003, Museum of Northern Arizona Board of Trustees
eliminated the Department of Geology and all staff research
positions in paleontology and geology. The action, affecting 2.5
positions, is effective May 31, 2003. Dr. David D. Gillette, Colbert
Curator of
Paleontology, and Dr. L. Barry Albright, Curator of Geology and
Paleontology,
were laid off 3 weeks before the opening of a major exhibit highlighting
the
work of the department and celebrating the 75th Anniversary of the MNA.
One half-time, grant supported position held by Janet Whitmore Gillette
will
also cease.
The curatorial positions terminated included an endowed chair
that fully funds the Colbert Curator, as well as a staff Curator position
partly
underwritten by grants. Since 1999 the department had been awarded in
excess of $500,000 in external grants and contracts and an additional
$200,000 was expected in 2003.
Following the termination of the Geology Department, the
Museum Board plans to invite "Visiting Scholars" to MNA whose "work will
be important,
relevant, and can be brought into the museum's exhibit and education
programs." That's exactly what has been done with outside
funding during the past five years since the reestablishment of the
Geology Department at
MNA. The "Plesiosaur: Terror of the Cretaceous Sea"
exhibit, is a direct result of the Geology Department's renewed focus on
paleontology of the Colorado Plateau - exactly in line with the Museum's
mission.
Yesterday Dave Gillette contacted Mrs. Margaret Colbert,
artist and wife of the late Dr. Edwin H. Colbert with the sad news. The
Colbert Chair,
established from the Colbert Endowment to honor Ned, had been
a dream come true for the Colberts, who both left indelible stamps on
MNA's heritage.
Efforts are currently underway way to protect the Geology Department
research collections, the Colbert library, and existing grants.
For additional information see Flagstaff Daily Sun articles:
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=61956
http://www.azdailysun.com/non_sec/nav_includes/story.cfm?storyID=61974
Direct comments to:
Museum of Northern Arizona, 3101 N. Fort
Valley Rd.,
Flagstaff, AZ 86001
(please forward copies of correspondence to the department)
MNA Interim Director: Bob Baughman [[log in to unmask]]
MNA President: Dr. Eugene Hughes [[log in to unmask]]
Board Chairman: Thomas Knoles [[log in to unmask]]
Board Vice Chair: Beverly Miller
Board Secretary: Anne O'Brien
Board Treasurer: Ronald Hubert [[log in to unmask]]
Board Member: Edith Arrowsmith [[log in to unmask]]
Board Member: James Babbitt [[log in to unmask]]
Board Member: William Clarke
Board Member: Dr. Charles Connell [[log in to unmask]]
Board Member: Susan Golightly [[log in to unmask]]
Board Member: Michael Hard [[log in to unmask]]
Board Member: Danson Perin
Board Member: Dr. Miguel Vasquez [[log in to unmask]]
Write letters to the editor of the Arizona Daily Sun, PO Box 1849,
Flagstaff, Arizona 86002
Editor, Randy Wilson < [log in to unmask]
<mailto:[log in to unmask]> >).
Please distribute this message to other interested parties.
Signed,
David D. Gillette, Ph.D., Colbert Curator of Vertebrate Paleontology
[[log in to unmask]]
L. Barry Albright, Ph.D., Curator of Geology and Paleontology
[[log in to unmask]]
Janet Whitmore Gillette, Associate Collection Manager
[[log in to unmask]]
=========================================================
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