[NHCOLL-L:364] Crisis at CM Herbarium (fwd)

[Richard Rabeler]

I am forwarding the following message with the permission of the
originator.

R.K. Rabeler, MICH
________________________________________________________

1 December 1999

CRISIS AT CM HERBARIUM

On Friday, Nov. 5, 1999, Drs. Fred Utech and Sue Thompson were
unceremoniously removed from their positions at the Carnegie
Museum of Natural History, Pittsburgh. They had been Curator and
Assistant Curator, respectively, of the herbarium at CM. Fred and
Sue were given the weekend to turn in their keys and clean out
their desks. Their e-mail accounts also were closed.

No specific reasons were given for the firing of Fred and Sue. The
Director of the museum, Dr. Jay Apt, indicated that two botanists
secretly had examined Fred and Sue’s work and reported that their
research was “below museum standards”.  Apt would not name
these inquisitors.

The CM herbarium now nominally is in charge of the Museum’s
Curator of  Vertebrate Paleontology. The status of loans,
acquisitions and such is in limbo.

For further details, phone Sue Thompson at 412-481-2157.

Please allow me to speculate on the true reason behind the
terminations. Director Apt is a former NASA astronaut enamored of
computers and fossils. His stated desire is to lure people into the
museum by emphasizing dinosaurs and multi-media, interactive
attractions. Botany is an old-fashioned discipline. Dried specimens
don’t draw crowds. This is supposition on my part, admittedly, but
reflects some of the tensions within the museum today. It’s
instructive to go to the Museum’s webpages--www.clpgh.org/cmnh--
and read the mission statements and goals of both the Museum
itself and Dr. Apt. These statements are remarkably disparate.

The botanical community, in my opinion, needs to protest Fred and
Sue’s summary firings. The CM herbarium is a major regional
resource and one of the 20 largest collections in the United States.
Fred and Sue are well-published researchers with impeccable
credentials. They both are active regionally and internationally.

May I have your help? Please protest these arbitrary firings. The
herbarium and its staff should be treasured and supported by the
people of Pittsburgh and by the botanical community. Let’s raise
such a fuss that the museum trustees will take notice. Letters to
the Pittsburgh newspaper might stimulate the paper to inquire into
the museum’s workings. The newspaper may also raise public
awareness of the present situation. Below are addresses to which
letters can be sent.
        Brooks Robinson, Head of the Carnegie Institute
        IRDC of Southwest Pennsylvania’
        907 Penn Ave 7th Floor
        Pittsburgh PA 15222

        Ellsworth Brown, President of the Carnegie Museums
        4400 Forbes Ave
        Pittsburgh PA 15213

        Jay Apt,  Director
        Carnegie Museum of Natural History
        4400 Forbes Ave
        Pittsburgh PA 15213

        Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
        34 Blvd of the Allies
        {ittsburgh PA 15222

Please gather the support of the botanical community at large.
Copy this letter and enlist others in the battle. Your help is greatly
appreciated. Thank you.

Allison W. Cusick, Chief Botanist
Division of Natural Areas and Preserves
Fountain Square F-1
Columbus OH 43224
awcusick at aol.com
allison.cusick at dnr.state.oh.us