WHERE YOUR GIFT IS NEEDED
Kelsey Museum of Archaeology
LSA Development,
Marketing & Communications
College of LSA
524 South Main Street
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48104-2921
phone:734-998-6255
fax: 734-998-6250
www.lsa.umich.edu
Kelsey Website:
www.lsa.umich.edu/kelsey
The Vision
The Kelsey Museum of Archaeology is in the midst of its first major expansion since
its founding 75 years ago. We have embarked on an $11,000,000 fundraising campaign
to improve the quality of our public displays, our teaching, and our research
facilities. Thanks to generous private donations, our planned 13,000 sq. ft. new wing
will allow us to mount large, innovative public exhibits and bring out of storage
objects that have never been displayed. Fellowships and research support for students
and faculty will allow them to produce creative and visionary studies which can be
integrated into our public programs. University-based archaeological museums such
as the Kelsey are much more than storehouses and display cases of antiquity. They
are vibrant centers of ongoing research and teaching as well as sites for disseminating
the results of scholarly research to the general public.
The Value
The Kelsey is an internationally recognized institution that houses the University's
collections of ancient Egyptian, Near Eastern, Greek, Roman, Coptic, and Islamic
art and artifacts. The majority of the nearly 100,000 objects come from Kelsey excavations
in Egypt and Iraq before World War II. Our materials from the excavation of
Karanis, a small Egyptian farming village of Graeco-Roman date, are unmatched by
any collection outside of Egypt itself.
The Museum mounts active programs of excavation, collection research, and exhibitions,
which are at the forefront of archaeological research and bring the results of
our work to the public in engaging and innovative ways. Over the past 30 years, the
programs of the Kelsey Museum have grown dramatically. This has taken place in
tandem with the growth of the University's Graduate Program in Classical Art and
Archaeology, which is housed in the Kelsey. With the University's support, a firstclass
staff of faculty curators has been gathered to work on, teach from, and display
the priceless artifacts in our collections. This staff, these collections, and a burgeoning
group of students eager to work with the Museum's materials create invaluable
opportunities to mount exhibitions that bring together in dynamic ways the
research of the curators and the enthusiasm of the students. Such exhibitions are not
only of interest to the academic and research communities but serve to educate, challenge,
and we hope, delight the general public.
The Difference
What is now holding back this talented group of people is lack of space, both for display
and study. Only 1% of the Museum's holdings can be displayed to the public at
any one time, but the space problems affect much more than the actual displays.
Eight academic curators, 12 full-time museum professionals and staff, more than 20
graduate students, the archives of 10 Museum-sponsored excavations, and more than
100,000 artifacts are crammed into every nook and cranny that can be made usable,
from the building's tiny basement to its unheated attic.
Our new space will triple our exhibition space and greatly expand our research and
teaching facilities. However, the costs of building and staffing this expanded facility
come to $11 million. As of September 2004, we need to raise another $2.7 million.
We have secured $500,000 in matching funds from an NEH Challenge Grant to assist in meeting this goal. We need now to raise $2.2 million from a range of nonfederal
sources-corporations, foundations, and private donors-to complete our project.
Our fundraising efforts break into two parts, the first to meet the NEH Challenge
Grant for our collections staff, and the second for enhanced research support.
NEH Challenge Grant
Conservation Internship
Program Endowment: $1 million
Conservation of objects and works of art under the stewardship of any museum
is one of its most critical missions. No artifact can be safely studied, displayed,
loaned, or used until it is properly treated and stabilized. Antiquities are subject
to a number of diseases and problems that are constantly monitored by a conservator.
Currently, the Kelsey Museum has only one full-time conservator.
Given the nature, size, and number of activities at the museum, this is far from
an ideal situation. We plan to establish an endowed conservation internship
that will not only help in the ongoing care of our collections but also provide
valuable training for young conservators. There are very few comparable internships
in the country, and the range of materials in the Kelsey's collections offers
a unique opportunity for training and educating the next generation of conservators.
Exhibits Preparator
Endowment:
$1 million
Exhibitions represent one of the most important and accessible ways we can
bring the results of our research to the public. Preparations for exhibitions are,
however, a substantial undertaking, involving the curator-in-charge, designers,
builders, conservators, and registrars. The single exhibit preparator now on staff
at the Museum helps design, build, and install all of our exhibits. With the addition
of a new wing to the Kelsey, we will be mounting not only more but also
more ambitious exhibitions. Consequently, the hiring of an additional exhibit
preparator is vital.
Special Exhibits: $200,000
The Kelsey Museum mounts two special public exhibits each year, with plans for
an expanded program in the future. Such exhibits are very expensive, costing
from $50-100,000 per exhibit. The budgets typically include special items on loan
from other world-class museums, the publication of a catalogue, special labels and
graphics, shipping costs, insurance, and special display cases.
Research Support and Fellowships
Faculty Research Fellowships: $2 million endowed
$50,000 annually
The faculty involved in archaeological field work and collections research
travel to distant sites to collect samples which then need to be scientifically
analyzed before they become permanent additions to the Kelsey's collection.
An endowment would allow the Museum to award fellowships for faculty to
make these trips, purchase the necessary equipment, analyze their samples,
and publish the scholarly results of their research.
Student Research Fellowships: $1.5 million endowed
$75,000 annually
As part of the teaching mission of the Museum and its associated programs,
the Kelsey needs funds to sponsor student participation in archaeological field
work and collections research. It costs $3,000 per student for travel, room,
and board expenses for the summer. Typically, 15 graduate students and 10
undergraduates will join the summer research teams.
Library Endowment: $100,000
Essential to the research and teaching roles of the Kelsey is an endowment for
our library. Each year, the library at the Kelsey acquires a number of books
and maintains ongoing subscriptions to several journals. These yearly acquisitions
are constantly used and consulted by students, the curators of the
Museum, visiting scholars, docents, and members of the public. The library at
the Kelsey, which contains a rare and beautiful Tiffany window, is a quiet
retreat for these individuals. With financial cut-backs to the main library on
the University campus, an endowment of $100,000 will go a long way to helping
us stay abreast of the most recent and up-to-date scholarship on subjects
relevant to our research and teaching.
All donors will be eligible for Presidential Society Recognition opportunities, including
the President's Club ($15,000), the Tappan Society ($50,000) and the Hutchins
Society ($100,000).
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