Kansas Herpetological Society
To President Tisa Mason, the President's Council, and Cabinet of Fort Hays State University:
The Kansas Herpetological Society (KHS) strongly urges Fort Hays State University to preserve the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, its irreplaceable scientific collections, and its continuing role in research, education, and public engagement.
We recognize that the university faces difficult financial decisions and has not formally announced its plans for the museum. We do not presume to know the circumstances or constraints facing university leadership. Instead, we write to emphasize the extraordinary scientific and educational value the Sternberg represents and to urge that its future be considered with the full participation of the scientific community and other potential partners.
KHS is a nonprofit, academically oriented organization dedicated to improving the understanding and appreciation of Kansas amphibians and reptiles. Our society has more than 300 active members and an online community exceeding 24,000 subscribers.
For generations of our members, Fort Hays State University and the Sternberg Museum have been central to the study of the natural history of Kansas and the Great Plains.
KHS has a longstanding relationship with Fort Hays State University and the Sternberg Museum. The society has held its annual meeting at FHSU and the Sternberg on several occasions, bringing participants to Hays from across the United States, Canada and Mexico, representing more than 50 universities, museums, agencies and other institutions.
KHS members have also contributed specimens, data, expertise, research, and financial support to the museum, reflecting a broader investment in FHSU as a steward of the natural history of Kansas and the Great Plains.
The Sternberg's scientific collections are an irreplaceable resource. The museum preserves more than 3 million specimens spanning paleontology, geology and modern biological diversity.
Its herpetology collection alone contains tens of thousands of amphibian and reptile specimens and associated tissues documenting Kansas and the surrounding region.
These collections are not simply objects requiring storage. They are permanent scientific records that allow researchers to investigate changes in species distributions, genetics, disease, environmental conditions and ecosystems across decades and centuries. Their value grows as new questions and research techniques emerge, and they cannot be replaced.
The museum's educational and public value extends well beyond its collections. It connects university research, K–12 education, public engagement, and the broader community in ways that classrooms and digital media cannot fully replicate. Encounters with fossils, live animals and scientists can inspire future researchers and educators while fostering curiosity and understanding of the natural world.
For many of us, experiences like these helped shape our professional lives and our commitment to science. The Sternberg also represents more than a century of effort accumulated across lifetimes of FHSU faculty, staff, students, donors, researchers and community members. Their dedication gives the university a distinctive role in documenting and understanding the natural history of the Great Plains.
We recognize that preserving the museum does not necessarily require maintaining every aspect of its current operations. Facilities, operating models, partnerships and sources of support can evolve.
We therefore respectfully ask Fort Hays State University to:
1. Preserve the Sternberg Museum as a scientific and educational institution, including its identity, mission and irreplaceable research collections.
2. Allow sufficient time to evaluate alternatives before making irreversible decisions affecting the museum, its facilities, staff, exhibits or collections.
3. Engage the scientific community, alumni, donors, professional societies and local community in identifying sustainable financial and organizational solutions.
4. Recognize the collections as long-term research infrastructure held in trust for future generations, rather than simply as physical assets requiring storage.
5. Explore a full range of options for sustaining the museum, including philanthropy, grants, partnerships, endowments, restructuring and alternative facilities
The Kansas Herpetological Society stands ready to participate in these discussions and help identify partners and resources that could contribute to a sustainable future for the Sternberg.
We understand that Fort Hays State University faces difficult financial circumstances and do not presume to know all the information available to its leadership. We ask only that a decision with consequences extending across generations receive consideration commensurate with its significance.
The question should not be simply whether the University can afford to operate the Sternberg exactly as it exists today, but what the university, its alumni, the scientific community, private philanthropy, partner organizations,and the people of Kansas can accomplish together to ensure that this institution continues.
For more than a century, Fort Hays State University and its natural-history collections have helped people understand Kansas. The Kansas Herpetological Society respectfully asks the university to give all of us the opportunity to help ensure that they continue doing so for the next century.
— Dr. Thomas M. Luhring, president
Dexter R. Mardis, treasurer
Dennis M. Ferraro, president-elect
Sydney Falcon, secretary
Kelly Kluthe, past-president
Suzanne L. Collins, historian