Just wanted to let everyone know that the American Anthropological
Association has an action alert out on this which can be found at
www.aaanet.org. Also, I don't know how many people read the article in the
NY Times about this, but Small wants "to cut research at the Smithsonian to
a single digit number of disciplines." This could be disastrous. It is a
bad idea to have our NATIONAL museum not be reasonably encyclopedic.
Kathy Mancuso
On Wed, 2 May 2001 08:17:55 -0700, Lisa Deitz <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>I am posting this for someone who is not a member of this list. Please
direct questions to [log in to unmask]
>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
>[log in to unmask]
>
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