[Nhcoll-l] FW: Museum collections

Wed Mar 29 20:16:24 EDT 2017

One of our curators wrote to ULM and this was the response.

Teresa J. Mayfield
Manager, UTEP Biodiversity Collections

University of Texas at El Paso
500 West University Avenue
El Paso, TX 79968*
Biology Bldg. #222

Office/Lab: (915) 747-5479  FAX: (915) 747-5808
E-mail: tmayfield at utep.edu<mailto:tmayfield at utep.edu>

*zip code 79902 for FEDEX/UPS deliveries

Website:  https://urldefense.proofpoint.com/v2/url?u=http-3A__www.utep.edu_leb_default.htm&d=DwIFAg&c=-dg2m7zWuuDZ0MUcV7Sdqw&r=CLFZJ3fvGSmDp7xK1dNZfh6uGV_h-8NVlo3fXNoRNzI&m=iu03JQsq99FERpHag0N6zLVwPwGnybacDPncmanuBpk&s=OZVTXAZ1K-_jwBvSXpWC6aS2LwQ7X8kCy3WVpEfLhRU&e= 

From: Eric Pani [mailto:pani at ulm.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2017 4:48 PM
To: Mackay,William <wmackay at utep.edu>
Cc: Cutler, Scott <scutler at utep.edu>; Greenbaum, Eli B <egreenbaum2 at utep.edu>; Harris, Arthur <aharris at utep.edu>; Johnson, Jerry <jjohnson at utep.edu>; Lavretsky, Philip <plavretsky at utep.edu>; Lieb, Carl <clieb at utep.edu>; Moody, Michael L <mlmoody at utep.edu>; Peterson, Markus J <mjpeterson at utep.edu>; Walsh, Elizabeth <ewalsh at utep.edu>; Worthington, Richard D. <rworthin at utep.edu>; Mayfield, Teresa <tmayfield at utep.edu>
Subject: RE: Museum collections

Professor Mackay:

Postings on social media platforms recently have provided erroneous information about the decisions made regarding the Museum of Natural History at the University of Louisiana at Monroe (ULM) and its research collections.  I am the person who made those choices and want to provide you with a first-hand account that is accurate and true.

The research collections of plants, fish, amphibian, and reptiles have not been used by our students and faculty much in the last few years, except for instructional purposes.  Research use has largely been confined to people outside ULM from loans we have made to them and visits they have made here.  However, we have still had to maintain the collection.  I have concluded that the scientific integrity of the Museum's research collection will be better preserved at another institution that has the resources needed to house and care for it adequately.  While this decision in not my ideal, it makes the most sense for preserving this important resource.  The ULM administration will do everything in its power to find the right fit for the collection which we hope will be in Louisiana or at least in the southeastern United States.

Given that, I have asked that the Biology faculty pare the collection down to something that would meet their teaching needs and that would fit into a classroom-sized space. The rest of the collection needed to be moved, and they should begin to seek other institutions willing to accept our donation and transport the remaining holdings to their new home by mid-July.  Failing that, disposal of the collection seems to be the only alternative. The 48-hr period mentioned in an erroneous Facebook post was the amount of time requested to locate other space on our campus where the whole collection could be moved.  That search has not located anything suitable.

Please also understand that the Museum is not being closed.  It will remain on campus, but we are delaying its expansion for approximately two years because of space needs for another academic project that will be announced soon.

I hope that you will help dispel false information about ULM and this matter by sharing this email with others.
*********************************
Eric A. Pani
Vice President for Academic Affairs
University of Louisiana at Monroe
700 University Ave., LIBR 640
Monroe, LA 71209

Phone; 318-342-1025
Fax: 318-342-1034
Mobile: 318-737-0437

From: Mackay,William [mailto:wmackay at utep.edu]
Sent: Wednesday, March 29, 2017 1:42 PM
To: Eric Pani <pani at ulm.edu<mailto:pani at ulm.edu>>
Cc: Cutler, Scott <scutler at utep.edu<mailto:scutler at utep.edu>>; Greenbaum, Eli B <egreenbaum2 at utep.edu<mailto:egreenbaum2 at utep.edu>>; Harris, Arthur <aharris at utep.edu<mailto:aharris at utep.edu>>; Johnson, Jerry <jjohnson at utep.edu<mailto:jjohnson at utep.edu>>; Lavretsky, Philip <plavretsky at utep.edu<mailto:plavretsky at utep.edu>>; Lieb, Carl <clieb at utep.edu<mailto:clieb at utep.edu>>; Moody, Michael L <mlmoody at utep.edu<mailto:mlmoody at utep.edu>>; Peterson, Markus J <mjpeterson at utep.edu<mailto:mjpeterson at utep.edu>>; Walsh, Elizabeth <ewalsh at utep.edu<mailto:ewalsh at utep.edu>>; Worthington, Richard D. <rworthin at utep.edu<mailto:rworthin at utep.edu>>; Mayfield, Teresa <tmayfield at utep.edu<mailto:tmayfield at utep.edu>>
Subject: Museum collections

Dear Dr. Pani,

I have just found out that University of Louisiana at Monroe Museum of Natural History Museum is going to be liquidated.

I am a professor of Biological Sciences at the University of Texas, El Paso, as well as the Curator of Insects, where we are very active in expanding our Biodiversity Collections. We have been very successful in obtaining funds to support our collection. We are all actively publishing, including our graduate and undergraduate students, based on specimens in our collections. Collections are of tremendous importance in documenting  trends in biodiversity and in understanding the phylogeny of all groups of organisms.

I urge you to find some other alternative in order to protect this indispensable and irreplaceable resource, which is so important in providing baseline data for studies that are being done and those that will take place in the future.

William Mackay, Professor
University of Texas at El Paso
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