UW to Use Private Funds to Reopen Geological Museum to Visitors

July 18, 2009 — UW President Tom Buchanan has directed the University of Wyoming Geological Museum to reopen on Aug. 24 on a part-time basis for public visits.

The UW Foundation has identified and offered private funding to pay for security so the Geological Museum can be open to UW visitors through the coming academic year.

"I remain fully committed to meeting UW's budget reductions and intend to achieve savings in our state appropriation from the museum's operations," UW President Tom Buchanan says. "I am grateful to the Foundation for providing the resources needed to keep the doors open to the public."

The museum closed June 30 as one of a series of steps taken to meet an $18.3 million state budget cut that took effect July 1. Buchanan says UW administrators are working hard to minimize the impact of recent budget reductions on students, faculty, staff, the community and the state of Wyoming.

"The generous assistance of Vice President Ben Blalock and the UW Foundation will allow us to respond to concerns the museum would remain closed to alumni, tourists, school children and families. Although the museum will not be open on the same basis it was before July 1, this approach meets the most pressing desires for access articulated by the public," Buchanan says.

Buchanan has initiated steps to identify a financially sound future for the museum and will direct a campus group to develop a plan for the display collection no later than the end of the fall semester. The plan will also address the extent to which the research and display collections can mesh with UW's broader academic mission, especially in earth and energy sciences and in science education.

For more information call Jessica Lowell, (307) 460-0604.

Posted on Saturday, July 18, 2009