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February 2000
It is with great pleasure
that I write to you at this time as Director of the William R. and
Clarice V. Spurlock Museum, which includes both a Natural History
and World Cultures Division. Our long-awaited goal for a new museum
facility is at last realized as we plan to take possession of the
new Spurlock Museum early in the year 2000.
I am also pleased to
report that the Spurlock Museum's philosophy of exhibit design follows
the modern trend of telling the story of our cultural past and present.
Our approach in developing our exhibits has been to help our visitors
understand the cultural evolution of peoples by incorporating, whenever
possible, indigenous experts onto the design team. Our galleries
and displays will therefore place our artifacts in the context of
the beliefs held by the very groups that created the objects we
will be exhibiting. As a multi-cultural museum, it is our hope that
our exhibits will fascinate the young and the old as they explore
what we have to offer.
The success of the new
museum is due in no small part to our dedicated staff. The cutting
edge skills that we have developed as we fine-tune the process of
moving a university museum have not gone unnoticed by various professional
agencies. Already, members of the staff have served as consultants
and reviewers for such institutions as the National Endowment for
the Humanities, helping other museums successfully renovate, remodel,
and move. Moreover, Spurlock staff members have presented papers
about our activities at national and international conferences,
bringing the skills and technical expertise of the Spurlock Museum
to the attention of the world.
Yet success comes with
a price tag. Once we move into our new facility, we will have to
accelerate our efforts to develop educational programs. These valuable
resources reach numerous adults and children in central Illinois
and beyond. Unfortunately, the museum's endowment is too small to
support programs and exhibitions of the caliber everyone expects
from the Spurlock Museum.
The museum, its Board,
volunteer organizations, and numerous groups of friends have met
many challenges thus far. Dean Delia and the University of Illinois
Foundation are fully behind us in our efforts and have made our
needs a priority. It is imperative, therefore, that we begin building
a museum operating endowment fund as soon as possible. I am convinced
that we can achieve this goal. Through your financial contributions
and through your assistance in bringing our needs to the attention
of others, we can achieve our goal of building an operating endowment
fund for education, for new exhibits, for mounting and installation,
and to support the daily functioning of our museum.
You, our board members
and our friends, are our ambassadors. Your enthusiasm is indeed
our primary means of support; it will help us meet our goal of making
the Spurlock Museum both an integral campus resource for the University
and a recognized leader in the museum community worldwide.
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