INDIGO COMMENT: I have agreed to post the following anonymously for the benefit of an organization that has requested my assistance in doing so (I would do the same for others of you if you need it in the future). Since the post is not on my behalf, please do not reply to me directly. Rather, the affected parties would prefer that the answers came to them through the list. If you are not comfortable responding publicly, I will take private responses and send them to the inquiring party. Thanks!
ANONYMOUS QUERY:
We are a private, non-profit art museum that has been approached by a local private university with a proposal to merge with them. Before either organization begins sending out press releases about a possible merger, we would appreciate receiving advice from institutions that have merged with universities or other similar non-museum parent organizations. We are particularly interested in decisions regarding transfers of collections to the parent organization, staffing structures and issues (were any departments absorbed into those of the parent organization; how did benefits change, etc.?), community and support group responses to the merger, and changes in day-to-day activities. Is the museum better off now than before it merged with the parent organization? Are there any pitfalls we
should avoid if we choose to negotiate a merger? We are looking for unvarnished, real world experiences, so please don’t hold anything back!
=========================================================
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).