<p>I suspect there are other ways to provide art (including the resources of Boston) so that Brandeis won't be eliminating art all together. At least two of our local colleges have galleries, but they are small and house temporary exhibitions. I'd guess Brandeis will probably do something similar. If this were Williams or Colby, which both have wonderful museums, but are much further from cities, I'd be more concerned.</p>
<p>Brandeis is not eliminating its arts programs, despite the need to sell its art collection. From what I understand, the Museum building is going to be a teaching center. I have a friend (in my book group) who is on the faculty (in the arts) and none of these decisions are being made without much discussion. Her view is that Brandeis is committed to keeping the arts departments.</p>
<p>Did not mean to offend anyone with my comments - by referring to Madoff's "people", I meant his circle of family friends and associates, whom he seems to have preyed on. I certainly was not referring to any group as a whole.</p>
<p>Bromfield, That is good to hear. Thank you for sharing that. </p>
<p>It's sad but they are very close to Boston, so they should have no problem continuing on with their arts program.</p>
<p>True, their art/art history departments may survive, but they will not thrive in the same way with the closing of the museum. These are valuable, primary, sources which will no longer be available to the students. To go into Boston sounds nice, but it's not the same thing as having a class in the museum.</p>
<p>i posted this in a thread on the brandeis forum, but thought it might bear repeating here --</p>
<p>article about endowment declines affecting a lot of schools --
<a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/arts/design/28rose.html?_r=1&hp%5B/url%5D">http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/arts/design/28rose.html?_r=1&hp</a></p>
<p>when you focus on one school it is easy to sound the alarm about how they are dealing with financial troubles - but you have to remember a lot of other schools are experiencing tough times now -- they will all probably handle it in different ways. it'll probably be years before we can really tell which schools managed thru these times without sacrificing their academic standing and which didn't.</p>
<p>I think it is a "shande," to borrow from the Yiddish: donors gave the art to Brandeis with the idea that it would be preserved and exhibited, not sold by auction to the highest bidders, who might be private owners, including in foreign countries, who will not display the works. I hope this is not a precedent for other colleges.</p>
<p>And the sad thing is Brandeis decision to treat art as a commodity, which it is not. While I'm sure it was a hard choice, the whole point of such a fantastic collection and venue is it's academic value.</p>
<p>I wondered if they've identified something so precious and wonderful (the entire Rose Collection of 6,000 objects, top value $350 million) that philanthropic "angels" would be more likely and inspired to rescue it than by trying to capitalize something else. </p>
<p>Are there enough people/foundations in this country who could assemble donations from $1-5 Million to bail out the collection? The university's decision is already national news.</p>
<p>Crazy time to sell art. Prices are at least 50% down from a year ago. Wonder if the trustees are making smart decisions.</p>
<p>When I read the OP's post I was reminded of the famous comment about Joe Louis: "He was a credit to his race -- the human race." </p>
<p>As it is with Bernie Madoff, but unfortunately "credit" is the wrong word.</p>
<p>This is really sad :(</p>
<p>I don't know if I will apply to Brandeis anymore.... I need aid....</p>
<p>I have a close friend whose D is a first year student at Brandeis and has been very happy there. Sadly she was informed before the break that one of her intended majors (foreign languages) is about to undergo major cuts including cutting classes and loss of faculty. </p>
<p>Apparently concentrations and majors in the sciences and math are not going to be impacted but numerous departments within the more "liberal arts" curriculum are feeling the pain of cuts and potential loss of faculty.</p>
<p>She is now in the process of trying to transfer to one of the schools she turned down when accepting her admission to Brandeis and is not happy about having to do so.</p>
<p>I'm sorry to hear that, eadad. I hope things work out for her.</p>
<p>My son is not discouraged so we'll be visiting the campus over spring break. From what we've read and heard, Brandeis is an amazing place and while I don't like the idea of selling art, I do respect that they are making hard choices. Too often an inability to make tough choices leads to even more dire consequences.</p>
<p>So Brandeis is selling the art AND making cuts too?</p>
<p>
Partly what's so significant about the act is what it indicates. Art is one of the very best things in which one can invest, perhaps the best after land. A university would not sell its art collections unless it was in dire financial straits. Selling a collection of that size to cover university expenses is virtually a violation of museum ethics.</p>
<p>
I agree. One can only hope that the art ends up in proper museum collections rather than in private collectors' hands.</p>
<p>As a Brandeis alum, I have to agree that this is a sad story, but I also know that at least back in my day (way, way back), other than the art majors themselves, few students ever passed through the museum's doors. I have to assume the trustees felt that relative to other assets, the collection was, in the end, a frill. I also admire Brandeis for being so upfront about the steps it will have to take in the future. I'm sure many schools are keeping mum about the hard truths to avert declines in applications. (Though it appears that even Brandeis did hold off on the bad news until this year's application deadline had passed.) Unfortunately, Brandeis is a relatively young school without the kind of endowment that centuries of alumni can provide and will suffer disproportionately as a result.</p>
<p>mcvcm--of course you should still apply if you need aid. THAT'S THE REASON WHY THE ADMINISTRATION IS TAKING THIS DRASTIC STEP! They want to preserve what Brandeis is all about--educating a diverse motivated undergraduate population. By closing the Rose, Brandeis puts itself in a more favorable position to meet more important demands including financial aid.</p>
<p>
[quote]
And the sad thing is Brandeis decision to treat art as a commodity, which it is not. While I'm sure it was a hard choice, the whole point of such a fantastic collection and venue is it's academic value.
[/quote]
Unfortunately, art is a commodity - just ask Sotheby's. </p>
<p>So you wouldn't get rid of the art collection because of its academic value. What would you get rid of? While it has academic value (which can be gained by the small inconvenience of having students hop on public transportation to some other great museums), so does much of what Brandeis has to offer. Doesn't it need to weigh the academic value of all its offerings against each other to determine priorities? And to the greatest number of students it serves?</p>
<p>
[quote]
Art is one of the very best things in which one can invest, perhaps the best after land.
[/quote]
Probably true. But what makes it a good investment? The fact that it appreciates in value over time. And that it can be turned into cash when needed.</p>
<p>I have listen to a conversation with school's president on NPR last night.
You can listen to it here:
Brandeis</a> President Defends Art Museum Sale : NPR</p>
<p>He clearly stated that this is going to be a slow process, which will be halted if and when the crisis is averted. They understand that the market for art is down as well and are not going to make desparate deals.</p>