The Rose Art Museum will reopen to the public July 22 after a brief de-installation period in an effort to allow the Committee on the Future of the Rose sufficient time for its deliberations, according to an e-mail sent by Provost Marty Krauss to the Brandeis community last Friday.The University also offered four out of the six Rose staff members continued employment, according to Krauss' e-mail. However, Michael Rush, the current director of the Rose, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that the University did not offer him employment. "My status remains [the] same as it was on January 26. My position is to be terminated on June 30," he wrote.

"These plans are intended to ensure continuity until such time as the Committee submits its final report and action is taken on its recommendations," according to the e-mail.

In an e-mail to the Rose Museum Board of Overseers that was cited on the "Looking Around" blog on Time magazine's Web site, Jonathan Lee, the board's chairman, wrote that the administration made the announcement after insistence from the office of the Massachussetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.

In a phone interview with the Justice, Lee said, "I spoke with the attorney general; the attorney general has been putting pressure on the administration; the administration put the letter out in response to pressure from the attorney general."

"As the result of concerns raised by the Rose Museum Board of Overseers, our office inquired about Brandeis' plans regarding the Rose Museum and the University has reiterated its intent to keep the museum open in the short term. We look forward to working with Brandeis University and the entire Brandeis community to ensure that the wishes of donors are honored as the University considers future plans for the Rose Museum," Emily La Grassa, communications director for the Attorney General, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice.

In response to Lee's e-mail to the Rose Museum Board of Overseers, Krauss said, "There has been a lot of misinformation going around, which is unfortunate"

According to the announcement, Roy Dawes, currently the assistant director of operations, will serve as director of museum operations; Valerie Wright, who is currently the museum registrar, will serve as collections manager; and Karina Sheerin will remain director of financial control, budgeting and analysis.

When asked to name the two out of six Rose staff members who were not offered continued employment by the University, Krauss wrote, "I cannot comment directly about personnel decisions."

However, Lee confirmed that Jay Knox, the current administrator of the museum, was also not offered employment and that his position, like Rush's, will terminate June 30. Lee added that Emily Mello, the director of education at the Rose, declined the University's offer of employment.

Krauss explained the staffing decisions in an e-mail to the Justice. "We wanted to ensure that the Permanent Collection has professionally trained staff to secure its preservation and treatment. But we didn't want to pre-empt the role that the Committee for the Future of the Rose has in recommending programmatic and artistic goals for the future," she wrote, further explaining that "From [the committee's] recommendations, we will assess the staffing needs necessary to implement adopted recommendations. So, as of today, it is not known what full staffing needs will be required."

Rush wrote that he cannot speak for the administration about the decision concerning his employment status, but he wrote, "I am considered an enemy for being so vocally opposed to the decision to close the museum and sell artwork. This is clear."

Sheerin wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that as a result of the staffing changes she will be working with Dawes more closely.

Mello, Knox, Wright and Dawes could not be reached for comment by press time.

Krauss wrote that the July 22 re-opening date and prior timeline were endorsed by the Committee on the Future of the Rose in a meeting she attended with the committee April 7.

However, Prof. Jerry Samet (PHIL), the chair of the Committee on the Future of the Rose, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that "the committee did not make specific staffing recommendations to the Provost ... [Krauss] took the lead on these matters and then discussed her plan with the committee."

Samet wrote that the Committee had been urging Krauss to announce a transition plan for the museum as soon as possible. The Committee is involved in developing a long-range plan for the Rose, and the uncertainties about [the status of the Rose in the short term] was very worrying for the whole Brandeis community. "Knowing that and how the Rose will continue its operations for the short-term gives the committee some breathing room to carefully deliberate about the long-term," Samet wrote.

Samet wrote that the Committee has not decided when they will issue a final report because the report would come out either over the summer, when few people will be on campus to discuss it, or in the fall, in which case "the period of uncertainty is extended."

The current Hans Hoffman exhibition at the Rose will be extended until May 17, Krauss wrote.

Prof. Nancy Scott (FA) wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that while it is a good sign that the museum will be open this summer, "the staffing situation, however, is skeletal at best, and it will be difficult now to arrange for any substantive educational programming for next year."

"I was astonished, just as I had been [with the initial announcement to close the Rose Jan. 26]," Rush wrote. "The university has essentially disenfranchised me as director. They have done the same with the Rose board of overseers. It's as if we don't exist."

"This decision means the University is responding to some pressure, which is a good thing," he added. "What it means otherwise is not much: There will be no director, no curator, no administrator, no funding stream, no Board (most likely). What kind of museum is that?"

-Jillian Wagner contributed reporting.