Rose Art Museum operating budget increased for fiscal 2010
The operating budget for the Rose Art Museum was increased by $200,000 for fiscal 2010 over the summer in an effort to implement the recommendations from the Committee on the Future of the Rose Art Museum's final report, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Peter French wrote in an e-mail to the Justice."The administration increased the budget to assure the Committee there would be some additional resources to support their recommendations," French wrote. He added that President Reinharz supported the increase and that it was not met with any opposition.
The Committee on the Future of the Rose Art Museum was formed on March 3 by Provost Marty Krauss with the intention of providing recommendations to the administration on the integration of the Rose Art Museum into the educational and cultural mission of the University. Chaired by Prof. Jerry Samet (PHIL), the committee also includes a representative from the Board of Trustees, the Rose Art Museum Board of Overseers, Fine Arts faculty and two members of the student body. The committee's final report, released on Sept. 22, recommended that the museum remain open as a public art museum while simultaneously increasing its integration into the University.
Samet wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that the administration made this commitment to increase the budget when the financial situation for fiscal 2010 became clear.
"By the time we asked the finance people to make a presentation about the Rose's past and future budgets, the commitment was already in place," he explained.
Samet wrote that the committee would have recommended an increase in the budget even if the administration had not stated its intention to do so to ensure proper implementation of its recommendations.
When asked what the committee planned to recommend as a use for the extra money, Samet wrote that the committee had finished its work with the release of its final report but that it had recommended in the final report that the Rose prioritize rebuilding its staff.
"We [the committee] believe that this hiring will be possible with the funds available (including the $200K commitment of the administration)," he wrote.
French wrote that the administration has not decided upon specific use of the Rose budget but that the recommendations will be discussed at the Board of Trustees meeting on Oct. 28.
The trustees seemed pleased with the recommendations proposed in the final report at a meeting of the Executive Board of Trustees Sept. 24, according to Krauss.
Krauss added, however, that the report was not discussed at great length.
"They thought it was extremely well written, thoughtful and visionary. It was very complimentary to the work of the committee," said Krauss.
Stephen Reiner, trustee and committee member, wrote in an e-mail to the Justice that the report would be discussed in much greater length at the Oct. 29 trustee meeting.
At Thursday's faculty meeting, Senior Vice President for Finance and Administration Jeffrey Apfel explained that while the University was expecting a balanced budget this year, the budget was slightly worse than had been anticipated.
One of the potential options for improving the deficit is selling or monetizing assets, he said.
"To some extent, that's a reference to the Rose," Apfel said at the meeting.
Reinharz also referred to the Rose Art Museum lawsuit, explaining that the first hearing is scheduled for Oct. 3, at which point there would be a better idea of how the University will proceed.
The lawsuit was filed by Rose overseers Jonathan Lee, Meryl Rose and Lois Foster on July 27 in the Supreme Judicial Court of Massachusetts.
The lawsuit was subsequently transferred to the Suffolk Probate Court.
The lawsuit seeks to maintain the Rose collection intact by stating that the University's decision to close it and sell paintings would violate the museum's ethical codes.
The University's commitment to the Rose family to maintain the museum solely as a public museum will also be violated, according to the lawsuit.
"Everybody talks about the sale. There are other solutions, and we had to stop exploring them, but it doesn't mean we can't restart," Reinharz said.
In addition to the hearing on Oct. 13, the deadline to file a memorandum in opposition to dismissing the case regarding the lawsuit is Oct. 6.
The University has already filed a motion to dismiss the case, and the opposing counsel has filed a motion for a preliminary injunction.
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