Report of Regents Cultural Education Committee to The Board of Regents

Your Committee on Cultural Education had its scheduled meeting on April 9, 2018. Regent Roger Tilles, Chair of the Cultural Education Committee, submitted the following written report.
In attendance were committee members: Regent Tilles, Chair Regent Cea, Regent Cottrell Regent Chin, Regent Johnson, Regent Ouderkirk and Regent Mead. Regents, in addition to CE Committee Members, in attendance were: Chancellor Rosa, Vice Chancellor Brown, Regent Hakanson, Regent Collins, Regent Cashin, Regent Finn, Regent Mittler, Regent Young, Regent Norwood, and Regent Reyes. Also in attendance were Commissioner Elia, Executive Deputy Commissioner Berlin, and Counsel and Deputy Commissioner for Legal Affairs Alison Bianchi.

ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION

Chair’s Remarks: Regent Tilles welcomed everyone and introduced Deputy Commissioner Mark Schaming. Deputy Commissioner Schaming provided a brief report on Office of Cultural Education news and activities. Today, Lieutenant Governor Hochul presented the Museum Association of New York award of merit to the New York State Museum for the Votes For Women exhibition. State Museum historian and exhibition co-curator Ashley Hopkins-Benton accepted the award on the museum’s behalf. Deputy Commissioner Schaming noted Archaeologist from the New York State Museum will begin excavating at the Van Schaick Mansion in Cohoes as part of the Archaeology of Slavery in the Hudson River project that began in 2015. On Monday March 5, Joost Taverne, the Cultural Attache from the Dutch Consulate visited and viewed New Netherland Early Dutch collections. It was an important tour and discussion as the Office of Cultural Education plans galleries, curate collections, and host researchers in the coming months. The State Archives received a small grant from the National Archives to provide funds to historical records repositories statewide to implement the recommendations of needs assessments conducted by the Documentary Heritage Program. Lastly, tonight at 6:30 p.m., the Office of Cultural Education will proudly welcome Kathryn K. Matthew, Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS), to launch the State Library’s Bicentennial Celebration.

Educational Programs at the Office of Cultural Education [CE (D) 2]
Department staff and an educator from Fort Plain Central School District shared information on how, by combining resources, the Office of Cultural Education (OCE) is supporting the increasing needs of educators and students throughout New York State. By creating programming, professional development opportunities, and outreach initiatives that provide a depth of content
and diverse viewpoints on specific standards-based topics this unified approach is helping the education community see: the connection between all the entities of OCE; the positive impact cultural resources have on student achievement, and how using cultural resource with students helps students meet state education standards.

Proposed Amendments of §90.2 and §90.16 of Commissioner’s Regulations [CE (D) 1]
State Library staff discussed the proposed amendments of §90.2 and §90.16 of the Commissioner’s regulations. Proposed amendments of §90.2 are needed to update and clarify certain terminology related to Standards for Registration of Public, Free Association and Indian Libraries. Proposed amendments of §90.16 of the Commissioner’s regulation to implement Education Law §273 (7), as amended by Chapter 362 of the Laws of 2013 relating to the Conservation and Preservation of Library Research Materials. Following the 60-day public comment period, it is anticipated that the proposed amendment will be presented to the Board of Regents for adoption as a permanent rule at the July meeting. If adopted at the July meeting, the proposed amendment will become effective as a permanent rule on August 1, 2018.