Documentation of Brandeis Student's Rose Museum Intervention, February 10, Photograph Thomas Ahn
This just in from Brandeis University: following intense public scrutiny, The Rose Art Museum will not close its doors and sell their collection, as it had announced late January. Like many institutions, the university was hit hard by the economic downturn, and severe budgetary shortfalls were cited as the rationale behind the decision.
Four of the six core museum staff members will be kept. Sources report Education Director Emily Mello, and Michael Rush, Director of the Rose Museum, however, will not remain. We’ll report more on this story as it develops.
UPDATE: An AFC tipster informs us Emily Mello was offered a position at the Rose she declined. We’ve also been informed that there are only five core staff members; the sixth is the employed full time by the University and spends only a few hours each week on Rose accounting and budget management.
Please send any tips to tips@artfagcity.com. Find below the newsletter the University sent to the Brandeis Community:
Dear Brandeis Community,
In order to allow its members sufficient time for careful exploration, analysis, and deliberation, the Committee for the Future of the Rose requested that I clarify the plans the University has made for staffing and programming at the Rose following June 30, 2009. While the University awaits the Committee's recommendations regarding the Rose Art Museum, important steps will be taken to ensure that the collection is cared for properly and professionally and that the operations of the Museum are maintained.
To this end, four of the six current staff at the Rose Art Museum were offered continued employment by the University. I am pleased that Roy Dawes will assume the position of Director of Museum Operations. Valerie Wright will assume the position of Collections Manager, and Karina Sheerin will continue as Director for Financial Control, Budgeting, and Analysis at the Rose. The staff will also supervise undergraduate internships at the Rose during the academic year.
The current exhibitions at the Rose have been extended and will remain open through May 17. Following a brief period in which the exhibitions are de-installed, the Rose will exhibit works from the Permanent Collection when it reopens to the public on July 22, 2009. The Rose summer hours will be announced soon, but consistent with our past practice, summer hours will be more limited than they are during the academic year. These plans are intended to ensure continuity until such time as the Committee submits its final report and action is taken on its recommendations.
These plans were formulated in consultation with the Committee for the Future of the Rose to provide the necessary context in which its deliberations and recommendations can proceed. I have confidence that this Committee, with its broad representation from important constituencies, will offer creative and informed recommendations to the University about the future cultural and academic roles that the Rose can fulfill. This announcement affirms the University's commitment that the Rose Art Museum will remain a museum open to the public with professionally trained staff.
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