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This is a news flash about sweeping new changes affecting state museums in New Mexico that surfaced just this week. The issue: governor is politicizing museums. The concern: this action could spread to other states. Our thanks to MPMA members monitoring the situation who provided the following information:

The new governor, Bill Richardson, has been making sweeping changes
across state government. For example, he asked all regents to give him a letter of resignation, which he will keep on file. He has done this with all state agency heads, etc. Yesterday he fired Tom Wilson, Museum of New Mexico director, and announced that the directors of the Historic Preservation Division, NM State Library, Museum of Natural History, Museum of Space History, and Farm and Ranch Heritage Museum are done for. All these jobs are now open on national searches. The Natural History director had only been in place one year.

There is a plan to dismantle the Museum of New Mexico and separate the four museums and ten monuments off which makes those directors exempt and ready to be replaced. There is concern about MNM's accreditation status with the current lack of leadership and instability. Ed Able, AAM's CEO, sent a letter to the Officer of Cultural Affairs stating his belief that directors should not be political appointees and up for grabs every four years. He is working with the Office of Cultural Affairs and others to stop this politicization of museums. It could be a precedent-setting situation which, if left unattended, could spread to other states with state museums.

MPMA will keep its members posted on this situation.

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