|
|
|
|
|
Covering Dallas, Monmouth, Independence, Falls City and surrounding areas since 1868
Roben Jack Larrison, curator of the Jensen Arctic Museum, says the group overseeing the center will discuss every possible option to keep the museum operating.
MONMOUTH -- This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Paul Jensen Arctic Museum and its mission of educating the public on the culture of the frozen north and its people.
That milestone, however, is tempered with uncertainty regarding the institution's future.
Western Oregon University notified the Jensen board of directors earlier this summer that it will pull much of the funding it has traditionally provided to the museum by June 2011.
WOU President John Minahan has advised the board to find ways to make the museum, the only one of its kind on the West Coast, financially self-sustaining.
Jensen leaders, meanwhile, say they will come up with an operating model that lasts beyond the fiscal year, as well as examine the possibility of moving the museum's roughly 5,000 artifacts to a new home.
"Every option is available for discussion," said Roben Jack Larrison, museum curator.
The museum was founded by former WOU professor Paul Jensen in 1985, using many of the items he had collected during teaching expeditions to Eskimo villages in Alaska.
The university began partial funding of the facility then, but with the hope that the board would find a way to cover the site's own expenses, Minahan said.
"But it hasn't happened," he said. "The museum has been running at a deficit since it started ... it was never intended that (WOU) would use tax dollars to continually subsidize it."
The museum's 2009-10 budget totaled roughly $80,000. Westerns contributes between $30,000 and $35,000 a year for both the part-time curator position and for general operating expenses.
The remainder of the revenue comes from donations, fundraisers and monies from the WOU Foundation, Larrison said.
Minahan called university support of the museum a good but "marginal" cause that can no longer continue because of the state's funding crisis.
"We can't see any real connection between the museum and our enrollment," he said. "It's not integral to any part of our curriculum."
Dave Stahlke, Jensen board president since March, said several factors are impacting the museum's financial well-being. A strong base of supporters of the operation during its earliest days have either passed away, retired or moved on, he said.
Currently, "I don't know if I would say there's been complacency," Stahlke said. "I do think there has been confusion about how the money would flow."
Developing a business model has probably been less of a concern than preserving and expanding the museum's collection in recent years, Larrison said.
Large grants are hard to come by because the museum lacks a full-time employee -- often a prerequisite for large foundations and endowments, she added.
The board wants to create a solid operations plan by December and investigate the use of some restricted funds within the WOU Foundation, Stahlke said.
A decision must also be made on the museum's continued existence on campus.
The fact that there's no active museum studies program at WOU, the aging condition of the building, and the small local population base may be arguments for a move, Stahlke said.
"We don't feel the future has to be in Monmouth," Stahlke said. "Obviously, it would be a loss to the community, but at the same time we have to look at where the best place is for the displays to be exhibited and where we can get the most people to see it."
Support the Museum
What: 25th annual Jensen Arctic Museum Salmon Bake Dinner and Auction fundraiser.
When: Sunday, Sept. 12, 4 p.m.
Where: Gentle House, 855 N. Monmouth Ave., Monmouth.
Admission: $25 per person or $175 for tables of eight. RSVP by Monday, Sept. 6, is recommended.
For more information: 503-838-8281; e-mail to arctic@wou.edu; online at www.wou.edu/arctic.
