Editor's note: The Fort Hays State University Foundation has created a fund for the Sternberg Museum of Natural History. This is an official fund connected to the university. https://foundation.fhsu.edu/save-sternberg/
I have had some sleepless nights since I heard that the Sternberg Museum could close.
At first, I was in denial. Over the years, I thought the museum was doing fine. There were always new traveling exhibits. The museum tent was always showing up at community events. There seemed to be more selections in the gift shop. We went there once a season for a birthday party, if not once a month. And the annual membership fee was almost unexpectedly low, especially in this economy.
Then I heard about the possible closure.
Looking back now, some of those things make sense in a different way. I wonder how long the museum's leadership and staff have known that the museum was under such financial pressure. Were all the new exhibits, community events, and programs partly efforts to simply keep the doors open in the face of the reported $20 million in deferred maintenance?
Four generations of my family have worked in education, and my husband and I both work in higher education. Challenges facing education at every level are not unusual topics at our dining table. We talk about declining numbers of high school graduates, increasingly aggressive recruitment efforts, disappearing majors and academic programs, the social responsibility of higher education institutions, and, ultimately, the true value of higher education.
The value of a college experience is not just gaining a specialized skill for the job market. With today's technology, someone who is willing to learn can acquire many skills without spending four years away from home. But a physical college offers something technology cannot fully replace: a place where students with different interests, talents and backgrounds can find their people, discover what they are good at, and thrive without being afraid of being "different."
It gives them opportunities to encounter things they are unfamiliar with, to learn to respect perspectives different from their own, and to become productive and responsible members of their communities. Whether a student is passionate about college sports, agriculture, art, history or paleontology, those experiences are part of what makes a university a university. That is why comments on social media from donors considering withdrawing their support from FHSU are so painful to read.
When I heard the official announcement about the possible closure of the Sternberg Museum, I was cooking dinner. I was stunned in the middle of the kitchen. My immediate thought was that I wish some reputable organization would step up and help. And I am willing to do whatever I can to help.
Then a couple of hours later, I saw a Facebook post saying that the FHSU Foundation was asking the community to help raise $855,000 by December 31, 2026, to sustain the museum's future operations. I should have felt relieved. Finally, someone "official" was stepping up. But instead, I found myself asking more questions.
Where did the $855,000 figure come from? The annual budget that has been publicly discussed is approximately $1.3 million. What exactly will the $855,000 accomplish? What happens to the staff, the living animals, and the fossil collections if that goal is not reached? Is this amount intended to keep the museum open for a full year, to provide a bridge while a longer-term solution is developed, or to fund something else?
The post did not answer those questions for me, so I went to the FHSU Foundation's official website to make sure I understood the fundraising effort and that I was not looking at some kind of scam. The webpage linked on Facebook was not easy to find on the Foundation website, so I searched for "Sternberg" under the Give Now option.
And… there were five choices:
Betty L. Marshall Sternberg Museum Fund
Dr. Howard C. Reynolds Sternberg Museum of Natural History Fund
Sternberg Memorial Museum
Sternberg Museum of Natural History
Sternberg Museum of Natural History Operations Support Fund
Which one is intended to support the current effort to keep the museum operating? What is the difference between these funds? How can a member of the community know where a donation will go?
I don't think I am exaggerating when I call this a crisis. But this crisis has shown me something incredibly valuable:
We have people who care.
We have experts who know their specialties.
We have businesses willing to organize fundraising events.
We have retirees who volunteer for all kinds of community causes.
We have families who want their children to grow up knowing that this museum belongs to their community.
And we have children who are willing to put money from their piggy banks toward the museum they love.
The willingness to help is here.
The resources are here.
The love for this museum is here.
But all these efforts are so fragmented.
Why are people calling for big-name foundations to step in and carry the flag on social media? Why are people questioning the credentials of the individuals who are willing to organize fundraising? This is not simply a funding problem.
So I am calling on the people and organizations who have the ability to bring this community together:
Please step forward.
We are ready.
We don't need someone to save us while we stand on the sidelines. We need someone we can trust to help us organize, communicate, coordinate, and build a sustainable plan.
Give us a clear goal.
Tell us what is needed.
Tell us where our money goes.
Tell us what happens if we reach the goal.
And then let this community show you what it can do.
Because we are here.
We are ready.
We just need someone, some organization, some institution, or some trusted entity to bring us together and give us a reason to believe that our collective effort can achieve what we are aiming for.
We will show you that this community is worth your leadership and your investment.
Ad Astra per Aspera.
— Helen Robson
FHSU Ed.S. ’19, M.S. ’10, BGS ’08