The dramatic global economic crisis could have a major impact on the public’s perception and value of the Penn Museum. First, as households rein in their budgets, it seems likely that they will spend their leisure dollars on traditional local amenities.We hope such spending will translate into higher visitor numbers for institutions like ours. Second, as the crisis unfolds, spreading like a science fiction virus from continent to continent, it reinforces the simple message of this Museum—we belong to a global culture that has extraordinary and fascinating roots intertwined by more than just DNA since Neanderthal times. In other words, thanks to the crisis, there is a genuine fascination with similar twists and turns in world cultures that, any day of the week, can be viewed in our galleries.
Now, like many museums, we have not always kept up with projecting these twists and turns as effectively as we might have. But, the kind hand of fate in the form of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation has just granted the Museum support for a new senior position—an Associate Deputy Director—to help us make up for lost time. This new position will help us do three things: first, to build closer ties with the University of Pennsylvania’s many centers and departments, thereby drawing more Penn students into the Museum; second, to work with students and faculty to provide leadership for fashioning a contemporary narrative for the Museum’s galleries; and third, again working with faculty from across the campus, to serve as the anchor for a new undergraduate major in World Archaeology, breaking new ground in the United States where Archaeology is typically taught in a variety of different disciplines, such as Anthropology, Art History, Classics, and various Regional Studies programs. With the new Mellon-funded Associate Deputy Director in place later this spring, the Museum looks forward to defining a new age for our institution and the University of Pennsylvania.
Richard Hodges, PH.D.
The Williams Director