Re: "Cleaning Up the Burke"

[MKIRKALDY@aol.com]

Back to the Burke Museum after an unfortunate diversion to the Sue  case.  
According to  
http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/0604/burke.php
"A Very Fuzzy Fossil Record":
"Meanwhile, one big question remains. The  first clear warning from a Burke 
staff member that things might be criminally  amiss with the Burke's bone 
collections was sent up the university chain of  command in 1989. Why did 17 
years 
pass before anyone looked into the  matter?"

There was a lot of smoke around this case and especially in  2002, 2003, and 
2005.  The board of trustees should have been  looking into the situation very 
closely, as museum accreditation may be at  stake. Public complaints about 
bizarre behavior and curatorial problems, plus a  conviction of that curator on 
a misdemeanor charge, should have caught the  museum director's attention.  
The first time SVP mentioned the case was  when they put an official statement 
on their web page in January  2006.
 
According to the reports, it seemed to be well known that Dr. Rensberger  
rarely obtained permits for fossil collecting.  See: 
http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/0314/news-downey.php

Mary