Meeting of the Board of Regents | October 2010
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THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234 |
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TO: |
Cultural Education Committee |
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FROM: |
Jeffrey W. Cannell |
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SUBJECT: |
Proposal to Establish a Regents Committee on Museums |
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DATE: |
October 5, 2010 |
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STRATEGIC GOAL: |
Goals 2 and 4 |
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AUTHORIZATION(S): |
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Summary
Issue f
or Discussion
The Regents have decided to establish a Regents Committee on Museums and charged staff with proposing a charge for the Committee and suggesting possible Committee members.
Reason for Consideration
The process of amending Regents Regulations for museums involved a great deal of consultation and collaboration with the museum community. The museum community has expressed an interest in establishing a mechanism that provides a regular conduit for input and advice re: the regulation, support and status of New York’s museums.
Proposed Handling
The proposal will be presented to the Cultural Education Committee for discussion at the October 2010 Regents meeting.
Procedural History
This is the first formal discussion of the proposed Committee.
Background Information
New York State has more museums than any other state in the nation. These museums serve as vital educational institutions, institutions that serve the needs of life long learners while providing stewardship for the cultural treasures of New York. The Regents have attempted to address recent issues in the museum community by amending their regulations and by introducing the Cultural and Museum Education Act.
The Report of the Commissioner’s Committee on Museum Resources was issued in 1962. This report was commissioned to “ascertain the needs and resources of the museums of (New York State) and the contributions they are making to the educational and cultural welfare of the people of (New York State).” Although a great deal has changed in the nearly 50 years that have passed since this report was issued, one thing has not changed – the continued importance of museums to life long learning and their role as stewards of New York’s treasures.
The Commissioner’s Task Force on Museums met in 1994 to update the findings of the Committee on Museum Resources. Each of these Regents “Committee” reports emphasized the importance of the museum community and advocated for funding via USNY.
Recommendation
It is recommended that the Cultural Education Committee of the Board of Regents take the following action: Approve the charge for a Regents Committee on Museums and direct staff to survey possible Committee members and make recommendations for appointments to the Committee at the November meeting of the Board.
Timetable for Implementation
Staff will provide recommendations at the November 2010 meeting of the Board of Regents.
Proposed Charge: The Committee, whose members serve by appointment of the Commissioner of Education, offers advice and consultation on issues of policy and service delivery pursuant to the Commissioner’s statutory mandate to charter and regulate museums in New York State. The Committee works with the Office of Cultural Education, the unit of the State Education Department that provides chartering and regulatory services.
Possible MEMBERS:
Anne W. Ackerson
MANY Director
265 River Street
Troy, NY 12180-4496
(518) 273-3400
FAX (518) 273-3416
info@manyonline.org
www.manyonline.org
(MANY Director)
G. Rollie Adams, Ph.D.
President and CEO
Margaret Woodbury Strong Museum
Rochester
Michael Aikey
Director, New York State Military Museum & Veterans Research Center
61 Lake Avenue
Saratoga Springs, NY 12866
(518) 581-5100
Fax (518) 581-5111
J. Winthrop Aldrich
Deputy Commissioner
Office of State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Lynne Belluscio, President
LeRoy Historical Society
23 East Main Street
LeRoy, NY 14482
585- 768-7433
www.jellomuseum.com/
Michael Botwinick, Director
Hudson River Museum
mbotwinick@hrm.org
(MANY Vice President)
Christine Campeau
Museum Educator & School Programs Manager
Adirondack Museum, Blue Mountain Lake
(Museumwise Trustee)
Robert K. Cassetti
Senior Director, Creative Services & Marketing
Corning Museum of Glass, Corning
(Museumwise Trustee)
D. Stephen Elliott, President
The Farmers’ Museum/New York State Historical Association, Cooperstown
s.elliott@nysha.org
(MANY Vice President)
John Fitzpatrick
Director, Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology
Ithaca, New York 14850
Catherine Gilbert
Executive Director, Museumwise
director@museumwise.org
11 Ford Ave, Oneonta, NY 13820
Phone: (800) 895-1648
(Museumwise Executive Director)
John Haworth, Director
Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian
George Gustav Heye Center, New York
haworthj@si.edu
(MANY President)
Kristin Herron
Director, Museum Program
New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA)
175 Varick Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10014
212-741-7848
kherron@Nysca.org
www.nysca.org
Steven Kern, Director
Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse
skern@everson.org
(MANY Trustee)
Beth E. Levinthal, Executive Director
Hofstra University Museum
beth.e.levinthal@hofstra.edu
(MANY Trustee)
Ann-Eliza Lewis, Ph.D.
Executive Director
Columbia County Historical Society
Kinderhook NY 12106
David Lovell
Acting Head
Bureau of Historic Sites
Office of State Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation
Elizabeth (Betsy ) M. Lowe
Region 5 Director
NYS Department of Environmental Conservation
Trustee, Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks)
(Formerly Managing Director and Vice-President, The Wild Center)
Ray Brook Headquarters
P.O. Box 296
1115 State Route 86
Ray Brook, NY 12977-0296
(518) 897-1200
Desk Phone (518) 897-1211
Fax (518) 897-1394
Glen Lowry
Director
Museum of Modern Art
Mark Mortenson, President & CEO
Buffalo Museum of Science
mmortenson@sciencebuff.org
(MANY Trustee)
Michael Novacek
Sr. V.P. and Provost for Science
American Museum of Natural History
New York, New York
Peter Paine, Esq.
Board President
Fort Ticonderoga Association
Gretchen Sullivan Sorin, Director and Professor
Cooperstown Graduate Program
sorings@oneonta.edu
(MANY Trustee)
Bart A. Roselli
Director of Education & Interpretation
Seneca Park Zoo, Rochester
BRoselli@senecazoo.org
(MANY Secretary)
Kenneth Shefsiek
Executive Director
Geneva Historical Society, Geneva
(Museumwise Trustee)
Trent Trulock
St. Lawrence County Historian and
Executive Director, St. Lawrence County Historical Society
Canton NY
315-386-8133
Carolyn Vacca, Pd.D.
Monroe County Historian
St. John Fisher College
120 Pioch Hall
3690 East Ave.
Rochester, NY 14618
585-385-8244
Institutional affiliation:
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MANY staff or board |
9 |
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Museumwise staff or board |
4 |
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State Parks or formerly State Parks |
2 |
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Other |
12 |
Type of institution represented:
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Museum |
12 |
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Historical society |
4 |
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State or municipal government |
4 |
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Academic, university |
4 |
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Professional association |
2 |
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Other |
1 |
Geographic distribution:
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Judicial District: |
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1,2,10,11,12,13 NYC |
4 |
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3 Albany, Troy, Capital district |
5 |
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4 Schenectady, North Country |
4 |
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5 Syracuse, Utica |
3 |
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6 Binghamton, Southern Tier |
3 |
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7 Rochester |
5 |
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8 Buffalo |
1 |
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9 Westchester-Lower Hudson Valley |
1 |
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10 Long Island |
1 |