A USA Today story entitled "Fine arts are in survival mode as funds dry up" includes the following:
"The Philadelphia Museum of Art this week said it would eliminate 30 positions, postpone a Spanish art exhibit and possibly increase admission fees to deal with a 26% drop in its endowment. In Washington, the Smithsonian Institution has frozen all hiring. Brandeis University sparked an uproar when it announced it would close the Rose Art Museum outside Boston and sell works by Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns and others to fill potential budget gaps."
The AP reports on the UMIFA-UPMIFA debate: "Rules governing how nonprofits in [24] states use their endowments date to the 1970s, when most states adopted a uniform law that prohibits withdrawing money from endowments that fall below their 'historic dollar value' — the money given to create the endowment . . . . Since early 2007, 26 states and the District of Columbia have passed laws that give nonprofit organizations more flexibility in using money from endowments that are underwater. Because of the economic meltdown, 12 other states are considering such laws, according to the National Conference of Commissioners of Uniform State Laws." (Felix Salmon wrote about this issue, as it applied to the Brandeis situation, here.)
Finally, the Rose-inspired panel discussion that was scheduled for tonight has been postponed due to snow. A new date will be announced.
