Monday, December 08, 2008

Financial crisis forces firing of 18 Penn Museum researchers

The Daily Pennsylvanian

The Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology is the latest to be affected by the financial crisis.

Museum director Richard Hodges announced in a memo last Friday that the museum would discontinue 18 "research specialist" positions that have been part of the curatorial departments and the Museum Applied Science Center for Archaeology, in addition to disbanding the MASCA division as a whole.

"We're facing the same challenging financial issues as anyone else, and as a museum, our endowment and, in particular, donations are key parts of our financial strategy," Hodges said.

The terminations will take effect on May 31 next year which will give the employees - many of whom have worked at the museum for many years - a chance to reposition themselves or find other work at the University, according to Hodges.

The decision is a result of the Museum's ongoing "restructuring" process, which focuses on strengthening its "core mission and values, while maintaining fiscal stability," according to the memo.

Museum researchers speak out against firings

The forthcoming discontinuation of 18 research specialist positions at the Penn Museum of Anthropology and Archaeology, which was announced last Friday, may stem from reasons other than the financial crisis.

According to several researchers who declined to use their names due to the sensitive nature of the situation, the economy's downturn is simply the trigger for the changes. Rather, they say the changes are due to both poor financial planning and long-standing University and museum priorities that do not emphasize scientific and historical research.

Penn President Amy Gutmann said the discontinuations result from a "strategic planning exercise" that is unrelated to the recent economic downfall.

But museum Director Richard Hodges still maintains that the cuts were made for budgeting reasons.

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