Hello all, I just wanted to add my two cents. I am a graduate of the Museum Studies Program ('98) and have been working for the Archives and Special Collections department at UNL for the last five years. I realize that there are serious economic problems being faced all across the country and that Chancellor Perlman has been forced to make some difficult choices at UNL. Nobody wants to have their program cut. I feel terrible for the dedicated faculty, staff, and students in the program. Especially because just two years ago the University recommended the Museum Studies program as an academic priority (with good reason). See the following link for more details: http://www.unl.edu/svcaa/prioritization/jan2001/gpePage11.html I understand that students can seek other alternatives as far as finishing their education in Museum Studies. The programs at Baylor and Texas Tech have already offered to give special consideration to affected students at UNL. My concern is the negative impact this will have on the museums in the state and surrounding region. I don't think the Chancellor or the general public understand the amount of free labor the Museum Studies program provides to all different kinds of museums, archives, galleries, zoological parks and nature centers, and other cultural institutions through internships, independent studies, and volunteerism. By removing this free labor force, many of the smaller organizations will suffer greatly. Also, many of the smaller organizations don't have the funds to do a national search for a director or curator candidate. They also don't have the funds to pay enough to make their jobs attractive to outside candidates. Many recent graduates are willing to move from Lincoln to "small town" Nebraska for a low-paying job. This probably is not the case for out-of-state graduates. Unfortunately, most people probably won't notice any immediate change. It won't be until 20 or 30 years down the road when the public will start to see the impact of this decision...and by then it will be too late. The damage will already have been done. I don't know that my voice will make much difference, but I'm going to try. Thanks for any and all support. Sincerely, Tom Mooney PS: I didn't even touch on the issues with laying off tenured faculty or the "gutting" of the State Museum, but I feel that I have given you all enough of my opinions for one day. :-) __________________________________________________ Thomas M. Mooney, Library Technician II University of Nebraska - Lincoln Archives and Special Collections 29 Love Library, P.O. Box 884100 Lincoln, NE 68588-4100 E-mail: [log in to unmask] Phone: (402) 472-2531 Fax: (402) 472-5131 http://www.unl.edu/libr/libs/spec/specar1.html ========================================================= Important Subscriber Information: The Museum-L FAQ file is located at http://www.finalchapter.com/museum-l-faq/ . You may obtain detailed information about the listserv commands by sending a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "help" (without the quotes). If you decide to leave Museum-L, please send a one line e-mail message to [log in to unmask] . The body of the message should read "Signoff Museum-L" (without the quotes).