Meeting of the Board of Regents | February 2009

Cultural Education Trusteeship Committee Minutes

February 10, 2009

11:25 a.m. – 12:25 p.m.

Room 146 EB

REGENTS COMMITTEE ON CULTURAL EDUCATION

Regent James C. Dawson, Chair of the Cultural Education Committee, submitted the following written report.

Your Committee on Cultural Education had its scheduled meeting on February 10, 2009.

In attendance were: Regents Dawson, Bowman, Brooks Hopkins, Gardner, Phillips, and Tilles.

ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION

Chairs’ Remarks: Regent Dawson greeted everyone and opened the meeting.

Deputy’s Report: Deputy Commissioner Jeffrey Cannell greeted everyone and introduced the speakers, Craig Williams and Loretta Ebert.

CET (D) 2 - Day Peckinpaugh

Craig Williams, Senior Historian ­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­of the State Museum provided a comprehensive report supported by a PowerPoint presentation regarding the motorship, Day Peckinpaugh that the Museum had acquired.  The Peckinpaugh, first vessel specifically designed for the 20th-century Erie Canal, carried its last cargo on the canal in 1994 and was tied up in Erie, PA for the following decade.  It was headed to a Canadian scrap yard when a consortium of private, state and federal agencies acquired it, brought it across Lake Erie and through the Erie Canal to Waterford, NY.  State Parks and Recreation has established a berth for the ship at the historic Matton Shipyard at Peebles Island State Park, as part of the renovation of the yard.  Additional support and partnerships with the State Museum have been provided by the New York State Canal Corporation, the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, the National Park Service and the Canal Society of New York State. 

Mr. Williams continued the presentation speaking about the current work being done, grants and funding needed to stabilize the ship and allow for its conversion into a floating and traveling museum and the upcoming 2009 Quadricentennial Celebration in which the Peckinpaugh will serve as the centerpiece, presenting the Hudson, Champlain and Erie history.

CET (D) 1 - Library Space issues

Loretta Ebert, Director of the NYS Research Library Regents presented on the need to address current space issues in the Library including the remote storage of collections in the State Education Building.  Supported by a PowerPoint presentation, Ms. Ebert provided detailed background information that included the history of the State Library and overcrowding issues that surfaced in the mid 1940s and that continues today.  Emphasized were staffing and cataloging issues, health and safety issues, security issues, and funding issues.  In addition, issues and concerns that the collections are at risk and lack environmental controls were presented.

Meeting Adjourned at 12:25 p.m.