Report of Regents Cultural Education Committee to The Board of Regents

Your Committee on Cultural Education had its scheduled meeting on January 22, 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 (absent), Regent Chin, Regent Johnson (absent), Regent Ouderkirk and Regent Mead. Regents, in addition to CE Committee Members, in attendance were: Chancellor Rosa, Regent Collins, Regent Cashin, and Regent Mittler. 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 including:  On January 7, the New York State Summer School of the Arts (NYSSSA) was honored for their outstanding work and commitment to furthering educational theatre by the New York State Theater Education Association (NYSTEA).  Molly Hennighausen, Director of NYSSSA accepted the award.  On January 12, fifty Haudenosaunee wooden and cornhusk masks from the Seneca Nation and Tonawanda Seneca Nation currently housed in NYSM Ethnology Collections were repatriated to both nations. Most of these masks entered the collection in 1898 and the early 1900s.  On January 23, the State Museum will host another Science Café at The Hollow Bar and Kitchen, in Albany.  Tomorrow’s session, titled Coming into the Country:  The First New Yorkers and the Ice Age Landscapes of New York, will be presented by Curator of Archaeology Dr. Jonathan Lothrop.  This year as part of the STATEMAP program, the New York State Geological Survey (NYSGS) compiled and finished the Surficial Geologic Map of Onondaga County. The maps provide valuable information on the natural history, the distribution of soils and hydrology and serve as an educational resource for a wide audience ranging from school teachers to county planning officials. 

Documentary Heritage and Preservation Services for New York’s Collecting Organizations [CE (D) 1]

The State Archives and State Library jointly provide training, outreach and technical advisory services to non-government organizations that preserve and make available documentary materials.  In 2016 the State Archives and State Library together launched the Documentary Heritage and Preservation Services for New York (DHPSNY) to coordinate support for preservation of and access to historically valuable materials. Robert Clark the Director of Archives at the Rockefeller Archive Center and Chair of the New York State Historical Records Advisory Board and Duane Watson the Curator at the Wilderstein Historic Site provided a summary of services that have been provided to the field and highlighted the impacts and outcomes from several repositories across New York.