https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/spea...6b7bd7075d


The curators of the Museum of Natural History at the University of Louisiana-Monroe got grim news last week from the school's director: The museum's research collection had to be moved out of its current home. The reason? The space was needed for expanded track facilities.

The curators were given 48 hours to find a new place on campus to store the collection — something they weren't able to do. Now they must get another institution to take their several million specimens. Their hard deadline is July, when the track renovations are slated to begin. And if the collection isn't moved by then, curators said, it will be destroyed.

The "University" can't find a need or money to house a valuable fish and plant collection, but can find money to rebuild a track...

America has it's priorities straight. :smh:

(03-30-2017 11:25 AM)dbackjon Wrote:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/spea...6b7bd7075d


The curators of the Museum of Natural History at the University of Louisiana-Monroe got grim news last week from the school's director: The museum's research collection had to be moved out of its current home. The reason? The space was needed for expanded track facilities.

The curators were given 48 hours to find a new place on campus to store the collection — something they weren't able to do. Now they must get another institution to take their several million specimens. Their hard deadline is July, when the track renovations are slated to begin. And if the collection isn't moved by then, curators said, it will be destroyed.

Wow...Monroe is serious about track!

I am going to hold off throwing too much shade until the other side of the story comes out.

Sorry, but something seems a bit fishy here. Look at ULM's campus on Google maps. There are no buildings near the track, unless the pictures are wildly out of date (not impossible).

Furthermore, the museum is located in Hanna Hall, which is on the other side of the river from the athletic facilities.

Quote:The curators were given 48 hours to find a new place on campus to store the collection

Not buying it.

This paints a more accurate picture.

http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/ed.../99752798/

It looks like the school was going to donate the items because they don't have a proper space to store them and the curators requested 48 hours to find another place on campus to keep them. They were never going to be destroyed. Track renovations are affecting where they are currently stored, but the area already doesn't have a proper sprinkler system which is required to store these items.

(03-30-2017 12:03 PM)Chappy Wrote:  This paints a more accurate picture.

http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/ed.../99752798/

After blowback from academia, and bad publicity.

Bottom line - ULM found money to expand/renovate the track, but can't find money to relocate a scientific collection - something that is at the core of an university's mission.

(03-30-2017 11:42 AM)MplsBison Wrote:  Sorry, but something seems a bit fishy here. Look at ULM's campus on Google maps. There are no buildings near the track, unless the pictures are wildly out of date (not impossible).

Furthermore, the museum is located in Hanna Hall, which is on the other side of the river from the athletic facilities.

the collection wasn't stored at the museum.

the collection has been housed under the grandstand at the stadium, which is clearly visible on google maps.

(03-30-2017 12:05 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  Bottom line - ULM found money to expand/renovate the track, but can't find money to relocate a scientific collection - something that is at the core of an university's mission.

I think that's more on our culture than the university. It's easier to get people to pony up money for sports stuff than academic stuff.

From the Washington Post -

Quote:ULM Vice President for Academic Affairs Eric Pani told a local paper, the News Star, that the university can no longer afford to keep the collection, which is not open to the public but used for faculty and student research. The collection includes specimens stored in flammable alcohol, so it has to be housed in a building with a sprinkler system. But now that running facilities are being updated to meet national track and field standards, there's nowhere else for the specimens to go, he said.

“Unfortunately, the fiscal situation facing the university over the years requires us to make choices like this,” Pani said.

Someone needs to remind the school that it's primary mission is to educate via the classroom and research lab.

(03-30-2017 12:05 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  

(03-30-2017 12:03 PM)Chappy Wrote:  This paints a more accurate picture.

http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/ed.../99752798/

After blowback from academia, and bad publicity.

Bottom line - ULM found money to expand/renovate the track, but can't find money to relocate a scientific collection - something that is at the core of an university's mission.

Looks like their administration is really trying to earn that derogatory nickname "U Lame-O".

(03-30-2017 12:45 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Looks like their administration is really trying to earn that derogatory nickname "U Lame-O".

Ouch. Never heard that one before.

The Louisiana economy simply does not generate the kind of wealth necessary to adequately fund all of the public/state universities that currently exist within Louisiana's borders. Sooner or later, some of these will be shut down. That's not something to be pleased/happy about, but just a dose of reality.

(03-30-2017 12:07 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  the collection wasn't stored at the museum.

the collection has been housed under the grandstand at the stadium, which is clearly visible on google maps.

Thanks, you are correct.

(03-30-2017 12:03 PM)Chappy Wrote:  This paints a more accurate picture.

http://www.thenewsstar.com/story/news/ed.../99752798/

Thanks for this.

After reading this, the situation has obviously been poorly misunderstood by posters on this thread and blown way out of proportion.

(03-30-2017 12:05 PM)dbackjon Wrote:  something that is at the core of an university's mission.

(03-30-2017 12:15 PM)NJ2MDTerp Wrote:  Someone needs to remind the school that it's primary mission is to educate via the classroom and research lab.

The collection isn't free to store, it's a fire hazard and so it has an ongoing cost for storage.

And the entire collection wasn't used for teaching. They even went out of their way to say that parts of the collection that are used for teaching will be kept.

The collection isn't being destroyed, just moved somewhere else so that the university doesn't have to pay the ongoing cost for maintaining it (which it can't afford). For all we know, the one time expense of updating the track facility was donated. Perhaps if someone had made a donation to build a new building for the collection, then it could have been kept on campus.

(03-30-2017 01:19 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:  

(03-30-2017 12:45 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Looks like their administration is really trying to earn that derogatory nickname "U Lame-O".

Ouch. Never heard that one before.

The Louisiana economy simply does not generate the kind of wealth necessary to adequately fund all of the public/state universities that currently exist within Louisiana's borders. Sooner or later, some of these will be shut down. That's not something to be pleased/happy about, but just a dose of reality.

Small to medium sized state with 5 FBS schools:
LSU: No risk
Tulane: They have money
LT: poor, but scrappy with pretty decent fan support
Louisiana Lafayette: tried calling themselves "Louisiana" didn't work. High risk
Louisiana Monroe: Smallest FBS budget by a mile. Very poor. Other than NM St, they are the most likely school to drop football in FBS, IMHO.

(03-30-2017 11:36 AM)HeartOfDixie Wrote:  I am going to hold off throwing too much shade until the other side of the story comes out.

There is no other side. "dbackjon" is correct: Despite the embarrassed lame backpedal/spinning by ULM in the wake of national bad publicity, the underlying facts remain:

1) The proximate cause of "moving" the collection is expanding the track, not lack of research interest, alcohol, or anything else.

2) If no home is found for the collection by the time track expansion begins, the collection WILL be destroyed.

It's as messed up as the original critical stories said it was.

(03-30-2017 01:19 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:  

(03-30-2017 12:45 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Looks like their administration is really trying to earn that derogatory nickname "U Lame-O".

Ouch. Never heard that one before.

The Louisiana economy simply does not generate the kind of wealth necessary to adequately fund all of the public/state universities that currently exist within Louisiana's borders. Sooner or later, some of these will be shut down. That's not something to be pleased/happy about, but just a dose of reality.

Actually, that's not entirely true. It does, the problem is the Jindal-inspired commitment to very low tax rates on the oil industry and wealthier residents. Funding levels were fine until big tax cuts in 2008.

If the 2002 Stelly Plan, that raised taxes on the wealthy, were restored, there would be more than enough money available for all of Louisiana's universities to fund their activities. And even with Stelly, tax rates in Louisiana were still low relative to most states.

(03-30-2017 07:51 PM)billybobby777 Wrote:  

(03-30-2017 01:19 PM)Native Georgian Wrote:  

(03-30-2017 12:45 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Looks like their administration is really trying to earn that derogatory nickname "U Lame-O".

Ouch. Never heard that one before.

The Louisiana economy simply does not generate the kind of wealth necessary to adequately fund all of the public/state universities that currently exist within Louisiana's borders. Sooner or later, some of these will be shut down. That's not something to be pleased/happy about, but just a dose of reality.

Small to medium sized state with 5 FBS schools:
LSU: No risk
Tulane: They have money
LT: poor, but scrappy with pretty decent fan support
Louisiana Lafayette: tried calling themselves "Louisiana" didn't work. High risk
Louisiana Monroe: Smallest FBS budget by a mile. Very poor. Other than NM St, they are the most likely school to drop football in FBS, IMHO.

Louisiana Lafayette outdraws Louisiana Tech and self-generates (not fees or transfers) $3 million more than La.Tech.

(03-31-2017 07:40 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  1) The proximate cause of "moving" the collection is expanding the track, not lack of research interest, alcohol, or anything else.

2) If no home is found for the collection by the time track expansion begins, the collection WILL be destroyed.

Like I said, poorly misunderstood and blown way out of proportion.

You'd do well to update your understanding of the issue by reading the second article, linked by Chappy.