FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
March 4, 2008
IMLS Press
Contacts
202-327-4201
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov
202-653-4632
Jeannine Mjoseth, jmjoseth@imls.gov
IMLS Holds National Hearings on Museum Funding in
Ohio, Missouri, and California
WASHINGTON, DC—The
U.S. Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS),
a federal agency that provides grants to museums, will
be holding hearings on museum funding at the Ohio Historical
Society in Columbus, OH, on March 10, 2008, the Nelson-Atkins
Museum of Art in Kansas City, MO, on March 12, and the
Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, CA, on March 14.
The public is invited to attend the two-part hearings
that will run from 4:30 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
to 8:30 p.m. at each site.
The hearings are part of the Institute’s
national fact-finding effort to better understand the
best ways to deliver public funds to museums to enable
them to preserve cultural heritage, provide educational
and civic opportunities, use technology, and serve the
public. The goal of the hearings is to gather and record
a wide range of perspectives about the most effective
way to use public dollars to encourage high-quality museum
services.
At each hearing, IMLS Director Anne-Imelda
Radice and members of the National Museum and Library
Services Board will listen to testimony that will examine
how public funding impacts the quality of museum services,
and whether there are gaps in museums’ ability to
provide excellent public service that could be addressed
through alternative funding models.
At each session the agency will hear from
invited witnesses and from members of the community attending
the hearings. In Ohio, the following people will deliver
testimony on March 10:
- William K. Laidlaw, Jr., Executive Director &
CEO, Ohio Historical Society
- Liz Bishoff, Head, Office of Sponsored Programs,
University of Colorado, Boulder
- David Chesebrough, President & CEO, COSI
- John Fraser, Director, Public Research & Evaluation,
Wildlife Conservation Society
- Bruce Harkey, Executive Director, Franklin Park Conservatory
- Julie Henahan, Executive Director, Ohio Arts Council
- Donald W. Murphy, President & CEO, The National
Underground Railroad Freedom Center
- Patricia Murphy, Executive Director, Oberlin Heritage
Center
- Alicia Oddi, Grants & Services Director, Greater
Columbus Arts Council
In Kansas City, the following people will
deliver testimony on March 12:
- Marc Wilson, Menefee D. & Mary Louise Blackwell
Director & CEO,
The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art
- Michael Bouman, Executive Director, Missouri Humanities
Council
- Sharon Sanders Brooks, Councilwoman, District 3
- Greg Carroll, Executive Director, The American Jazz
Museum
- Gregory M. Glore, Community Volunteer
- Christopher Leitch, Director, Kansas City Museum at
Corinthian Hall
- Fred Logan, Chairman, Arts Council of Metropolitan
Kansas City
- Mindi Love, Director, Johnson County Museum
- Mary Kennedy McCabe, Executive Director, Mid-America
Arts Alliance
- Robert D. Regnier, President, Bank of Blue Valley
- Kate Viens, Executive Director, New England Museum
Association
In Oakland, the following people will deliver
testimony on March 14:
- Lori Forgarty, Director, Oakland Museum of California
- Barbara Ando, Associate Director, Lawrence Hall of
Science, University of California
- Dennis Bartels, Executive Director, Exploratorium
- David Crosson, Executive Director, California Historical
Society
- Ralph Lewin, Executive Director, California Council
for the Humanities
- Phil Kohlmetz, Executive Director, Western Railway
Museum
- William Moreno, Executive Director, Claremont Museum
of Art
- Richard Winefield, Executive Director, Bay Area Discovery
Museum
- Sheryl Wong, Chair, Board of Trustees, Oakland Museum
of California Foundation
The outcomes of the hearings, in conjunction
with the results of a national study funded by IMLS and
conducted by the Urban Institute, will be part of report
that will be released this summer. |
