RE: Academy of Natural Sciences financial problems

[Ken.Carpenter@dmns.org]

Having worked at the Academy in 1983-1985, I know that they have long
had problems financially. There are a variety of causes, including, 1)
that it is a private institution, hence doesn't get much city funding,
2) lost millions in the charity scam that hit several large museums
several years ago, 3) inadequate parking in the downtown region making
access difficult, and 4) insufficient interaction between the scientists
and public (hence, lack of awareness of what goes on at the Academy).

Ken

Kenneth Carpenter, Ph.D.
Curator of Lower Vertebrate Paleontology/
Chief Preparator
Department of Earth Sciences
Denver Museum of Nature & Science
2001 Colorado Blvd.
Denver, CO 80205
 
Phone: 303-370-6392
Fax: 303-331-6492
************************************************************
for PDFs of some of my publications, as well as information of the Cedar
Mountain Project: 
https://scientists.dmns.org/sites/kencarpenter/default.aspx
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-dinosaur@usc.edu [mailto:owner-dinosaur@usc.edu] On Behalf
Of frank bliss
Sent: Sunday, December 04, 2005 6:07 PM
To: pkv1@erols.com
Cc: dinosaur@usc.edu
Subject: Re: Academy of Natural Sciences financial problems

They need to hire a (or several) fund raising expert(s) who's salary is 
a percentage of their accomplishments.  The board of directors feet 
need to be held to the fire as well as they are responsible for fund 
raising each and every one of them.  Anybody can attend the non-profits 
board meeting I assume.  I have been on the board of several 
non-profits and if they didn't make money, non-performing board members 
heads rolled.  Obviously previous boards made the financial obligations 
prior to the 80's.  It is interesting that the Philidelphia's social 
elite are letting such a fine collection languish.  Is Philadelphia 
suffering the same economic problems?

Frank (Rooster) Bliss
MS Biostratigraphy
Weston, Wyoming
On Dec 4, 2005, at 1:11 PM, Patti wrote:

> (As reported by Mary K. to the dinolist.
> I've been volunteering and working there since 1998 and have seen the 
> drastic cuts over the years.  It's a fantastic and priceless place 
> that is undervalued by the city and the public in general.  it would 
> be great to get strong leadership in the president's office this next 
> time around, as well as the drastic upgrade the museum needs! The 
> article is incisive and well-researched. - Patti)
> _______________________________________________________
> Dinosaur museum is itself threatened"
> "The Academy of Natural Sciences  has been harmed by cuts in staffing 
> and
> years of financial troubles."
> By  Patricia Horn
> Inquirer Staff Writer
> Posted on Sun, Dec. 04,  2005
> http://www.timesleader.com/mld/timesleader/living/health/13324126.htm
>
> To  generations of parents and children, the Academy of Natural 
> Sciences is
> Philadelphia's dinosaur museum.
> But to scientists who study climate change,  the extinction of 
> species, and
> other critical ecological matters, the academy is  the home of one of 
> the
> world's most valuable collections of biological  specimens, critical
to
> understanding life on Earth.
> "The academy is not just  another museum," said Piotr Naskrecki, a 
> Harvard
> University-based director of  Conservation International. "It is a 
> priceless
> library of biodiversity."
> And  it is all at risk.
> The academy, at 1900 Benjamin Franklin Parkway, is  struggling 
> financially,
> and has been for more than a decade. It ran deficits  through much of 
> the
> 1980s, and from 1993 through last year, the academy ran  annual 
> deficits averaging
> about $700,000 a year.
> The shortfalls have forced  the academy over the last 15 years to shed

> many
> of the people who care for its  25 million specimens of fish, moss, 
> coral,
> diatoms, dinosaur bones, birds,  mammals, mollusks and plants.
> The cuts continued last year, as it reduced its  already shrunken 
> scientific
> staff by a third, trimmed other staff, and  restructured.
> All that has left scientists in and out of the academy worried  about 
> the
> welfare of the collection and the future of the institution.
> _____
>
> <SNIP> of long, interesting article.
>
> Mary
>
>
> Patricia Kane-Vanni, Esq.
> Bala Cynwyd, PA  19004
> pkv1@erols.com or paleopatti@hotmail.com
> http://groups.msn.com/DinosaurandFossilDigs
>
> "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions.  Small 
> people always do that, but really great ones make you feel that you 
> too, can become great." - Mark Twain