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.