Indigo and all:
I must add a few bits of information, as a resident of Nebraska (past 4+
years), that might return the focus of the original post . . .
FIRST:
The Museum Studies program at University of Nebraska - Lincoln (UNL) was
in the top 5 in the nation. As UNL put the program on the "Priority
Programs" list, this impending elimination comes as a surprise to
everyone.
SECOND:
One of Nebraska's "esteemed" (note of sarcasm) State Senators, Ernie
Chambers, has set forth a proposal in the state legislature (Unicameral)
that college football players get paid for their skills. Does he forget
the economy is in crisis, too many people are living below the poverty
line, unemployment is on the rise, "annual raises" for those working
have been a dream of the past, and - many (if not most) college football
players have scholarships and stipends already!
The problem is wider than just eliminating one graduate program and,
likely, taking employment away from a few experts in the field of
museology. This will have a much wider impact - in the city of Lincoln,
in the state of Nebraska, and in the Midwest. Who knows . . . maybe
nationally! At Joslyn Art Museum, we depend each year upon UNL Museum
Studies students as interns. Such opportunities give them some
professional exposure and income, and give us eager interns, with able
hands and minds. Of course, this also means hiring for entry level
positions in this region will become a bit trickier. All in all, this
contributes to the cultural vacuum that has constantly drawn museum
talent away from the Midwest, to the coasts.
So, while the copyright discussion and the woes of society in general
are important, how about some substantive talk about this specific
issue? (In other words, a universal broadening of the scope of this
economic problem does not lessen each specific blow.)
Sincerely,
Jay Heuman
Visitor & Volunteer Services Coordinator
Joslyn Art Museum
2200 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE, 68102
342-3300 (telephone) 342-2376 (fax)
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Museum discussion list [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> On Behalf Of Indigo Nights
> Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2003 9:19 am
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Fair-use & support for University of Nebraska
>
>
> Cecelia, I share your concern about the University of
> Nebraska.
>
> However, while I am not discouraging the group from
> trying to do something about this, I would suggest,
> perhaps, that folks who are interested do a Google
> News search on the state of economy in the various
> states ( http://news.google.com ).
>
> One of the things I provide the 588 folks in MuseJobs
> is some understanding of what the job market/economy
> actually looks like, and I try to give them some
> alternatives to tide them over in these very tough
> times--vis a vis jobs with transferrable skills.
>
> It's a shame that the University of Nebraska is
> removing this program, but the greater shame is that a
> majority of the states are having quite severe
> budgetary constraints. The reasons are many, some of
> which (dancing very lightly on the subject here due to
> its political nature) tie to the reasons we got into
> the Fair Use discussion in the first place.
>
> State budgets are hemorraghing, and the governors have
> begged the current adminstration for assistance.
> Regrettably, much of this has fallen on deaf ears
> because their requests do not match the current
> paradigm of this administration and do not match the
> agenda at hand.
>
> Examine the unemployment situation. The tanking stock
> market, which closed at the beginning of the week in
> the 7,500 ball park after being in the 12,000 range
> just three short years ago, is having a very severe
> impact on jobs in general, and state budgets as well.
> There are so many facets tied to this market, not the
> least of which is state bonds that help to support key
> programs.
>
> It's such a travesty, but until the economy can be
> righted, I seriously can't see that our letter writing
> is going to do a lot. I read about 9 online
> newspapers daily from different geographic locales and
> demographics (and numerous publications of a
> special-interest nature). I believe the SacBee,
> Denver Rocky Mountain News, and Seattle Times have all
> had articles recently talking about the impacts in
> their states to libraries and universities.
>
> What we could do is perhaps come up with some
> alternative locations for students to study, not the
> least of which is the University of Leicester in the
> UK. Jim Roberts of UL is commoderator on MuseJobs,
> and I believe they run a distance education program.
> If someone needs it, let me know, and I'll dig out the
> California virtual university site that links the
> California colleges, many of which have online
> programs.
>
> The next problem for students across the board is
> going to be the increase in tuition. Because the
> private sector is failing in the market, funding is
> getting more and more restricted. It's going to be
> very tough for these folks to get the dollars they
> deserve to get the quality education.
>
> That, in turn, drives the old tried and true (flame
> war here, LOL) discussion of salaries are too low when
> muse studies folks graduate from college heavily
> enmeshed in debt (smile). I don't see a respite soon
> forthcoming.
>
> I think it's time to pull the Ramen out again.
> Perhaps time to revisit the Ramen recipes resident in
> the archives.
>
>
>
>
> --- "Gibson, Cecelia" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Second, I
> > would like to suggest that
> > we now take a closer look at what is happening at
> > the Univerisity of
> > Nebraska and I would urge anyone who can to please
> > write a letter of support
> > for the program and museum as suggested below. I,
> > for one, am outraged by
> > their plan to eliminate the museum studies program
> > and tenured professors,
> > not to mention the museum employees who will also
> > lose their jobs. I am
> > interested in hearing how other museum professionals
> > and students feel about
> > this situation.
> >
> > Best,
> > Cecelia
> >
>
>
> =====
> Indigo Nights
> [log in to unmask]
>
> Looking for a Job? Try Got Links?, Your One-Stop Portal
> http://victorian.fortunecity.com/stanmer/414
>
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