latest disaster: layoffs at LACM

[Robin Leech]

How long will collections with no curators last?
Robin Leech

----- Original Message -----
From: "Doug Yanega" <dyanega at POP.UCR.EDU>
To: <TAXACOM at USOBI.ORG>
Sent: Thursday, June 19, 2003 10:20 AM
Subject: latest disaster: layoffs at LACM


> >From: "Bradford D. Hollingsworth" <bhollingsworth at sdnhm.org>
> >
> >To: <everyone at sdnhm.org> CC: Tod Reeder
> ><treeder at sunstroke.sdsu.edu>, "Jay M. Savage" <savy1 at cox.net>,
> >Richard Etheridge <rether at sunstroke.sdsu.edu>, Ted Case
> ><case at biomail.ucsd.edu>, Greg Pregill <pregill at sandiego.edu>, Robert
> >Espinoza <robert.e.espinoza at csun.edu>, Robert Fisher
> ><rfisher at usgs.gov>
> >>
> >>
> >>   LACM lays off 23 Hello SDNHMer's,
> >>
> >>   I have some very sad news. 23 positions were eliminated at the
> >>Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History yesterday, including
> >>departments, curators, collections managers, exhibits, and others.
> >>I don't have all the details but I'm sure we will hear more about
> >>them as the information becomes available. The entire Herpetology
> >>staff was fired, given a few moments to collect their belongings,
> >>and told to leave the building (not much gray area there). This
> >>includes Herpetology's collection manager Kent Beaman and curator
> >>David Kizarian. Also fired were the curator of mammalogy,
> >>curatorial assistants in birds and insects, a research librarian,
> >>and the only surviving botany curator. Research and collections had
> >>a total of six people terminated. I know of other cuts in exhibits
> >>and operations, but it is reported that there were none in
> >>administration. They will certainly need our voices to help protest
> >>these deep cuts.
> >>
> >>   Brad
> >>   ****************************************
> >>   Bradford Hollingsworth, Ph.D.
> >>   Curator
> >>   Department of Herpetology
> >>   San Diego Natural History Museum
> >>   P.O. Box 121390
> >>   San Diego, CA 92112
> --
>
> Doug Yanega        Dept. of Entomology         Entomology Research Museum
> Univ. of California - Riverside, Riverside, CA 92521
> phone: (909) 787-4315 (standard disclaimer: opinions are mine, not UCR's)
>               http://cache.ucr.edu/~heraty/yanega.html
>    "There are some enterprises in which a careful disorderliness
>          is the true method" - Herman Melville, Moby Dick, Chap. 82