Report of Regents Cultural Education Committee to The Board of Regents

Regent Roger Tilles, Chair of the Cultural Education Committee, submitted the following written report. Your Committee on Cultural Education Committee had its scheduled meeting on September 16, 2013. In attendance were committee members: Regents Tilles, Dawson, Bendit, Rosa Cea, Jackson Cottrell, and Brown. Absent:  In addition to CE Committee Members, in attendance were:  Chancellor Tisch, Regents Cashin and Norwood, Commissioner King and Executive Deputy Commissioner Beth Berlin.

ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION

Chair’s Remarks: Regent Tilles welcomed everyone and opened the meeting. 

Regent Tilles recognized Assistant Commissioner Chris Ward who distributed information and a poster about the 2013 Archives Student Research Awards.  The announcement and posters have been distributed to all school district superintendents.  The awards have been offered since 1991 and are funded by a gift from Regent Emerita Laura Chodos.

CE (D) 1 September 11 Tribute Center  - Regent Tilles introduced Lee Ielpi, Board member of the September 11 Tribute Center in New York City.  Ielpi provided a brief presentation on the Tribute Center and its programs.  Lee introduced Jennifer Adams, the Director of Exhibitions and Education at the tribute Center.  Over 80,000 school children have visited the tribute Center, with over 25,000 visiting each year.  Ielpi remarked that no state has developed a 9/11 curriculum and he urged the Committee and the Board to consider adopting such a curriculum to advance the understanding of history, human development and understanding of world events.

CE (D) 2 Report on the Uncommon Approaches to the Common Core Conference
Liz Hood, Director of Educational Television and Public Broadcasting provided a report on the  two-day conference hosted by the Office of Cultural Education.  The conference held on August 13 and 14, targeted librarians and representatives of other cultural institutions to introduce them to the Common Core Learning Standards and help them develop methods and approaches to supporting implementation of the Standards. The conference had nearly 300 participants from across the state.  Hood remarked that OCE, in partnership with P-12, is supporting regional “follow-up” conferences and is planning a second conference in 2014.

CE (D) 3 Report on 2013 Summer School of the Arts
Sara Fittizzi, Executive Director for the New York State Summer School of the Arts, provided an update on the results of this year’s statewide program, remarking that over 400 students participated in this highly selective program.  The program is a 4 week residential program hosted at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, SUNY Delhi, SUNY Oswego and SUNY Fredonia.  Many students cited their participation in this program as a life-changing activity and 2013 was no exception.  Fittizzi remarked that 2014 marks the 45th anniversary of the program.

CE (D) 4 Emancipation Proclamation Preservation Plan
Christina Phillips, OCE Coordinator of Facilities presented the Committee with an update on the preservation of Lincoln’s Draft Emancipation Proclamation.  In the spring of 2013, OCE commissioned a panel of outside experts to review the current condition of the Preliminary Emancipation Proclamation.  The panel provided a detailed report with recommendations, the most important of which is to replace the current encasement for the document.  The Committee was briefed on the recommendations and OCE’s plan for going forward.  Phillips remarked that the committee is developing a multi-year plan to address the preservation and encapsulation of the document.  Questions were asked about the approximate cost of the project.  A similar project, undertaken by the New York Public Library cost approximately $600,000.