The American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) has sent a letter to the leadership of Fort Hays State University (FHSU) and the Kansas Board of Regents expressing concern over reports that the university may close the Sternberg Museum of Natural History at the end of the year.
In the letter, AIBS emphasized that the Sternberg and its collectionsâmore than three million paleontology, botany, zoology, and geology specimensâare working scientific infrastructure used by researchers across the country, and the museum is a vital training ground where FHSU students and young people from across Kansas discover careers in science. AIBS warned that once such a collection is dispersed, neither the specimens nor the decades of investment behind them can be recreated.
âWe respectfully urge the administration of Fort Hays State University to keep the Sternbergâs collections intact, accessible, and under professional care, and to weigh the full, long-term costsâscientific, educational, and reputationalâof any decision that would diminish or close the museum,â the letter states.
Stay current on the latest science policy news. Subscribe to our bi-weekly AIBS Public Policy Report.