[NHCOLL-L:1903] Re: Protecting collections by raising the perceivedstatus of systema tics

[Diane Gutenkauf]

Every day I find new reasons to bless my classic liberal arts education, here's yet another one. I do all I can to encourage my interns to round out their educations, it not only makes them better exhibit developers, it makes them better people. 

Diane Gutenkauf (An anthropologist with training in Human genetics and tropical forest ecology, whew)
Manager, Interpretation  & Exhibits 
The Morton Arboretum
Lisle IL 60532
dgutenka at mortonarb.org

>>> Sean Barry <sjbarry at ucdavis.edu> 04/18/03 03:15PM >>>
On Thu, 17 Apr 2003 carabid at mpm.edu wrote:

> administrators. The lists could go on and on. But university administrators
> do not understand or at least do not support in many instances collections.
> I think this is because the administrators and scientists in other
> disciplines do not have a high opinion about systematics.

It's closer to home than that--at most institutions of higher learning
these days such classical major programs as zoology and botany have been
redistributed into new majors that were once just a part of the larger
picture.  Way too many students are now finishing bachelor's degrees in
biology without ever hearing of "systematics," and in some institutions
perhaps without even hearing of "evolution," let alone ecology or natural
history.  ...snip...