UNIVERSITY OF ALASKA MUSEUM OF THE NORTH annual report 7.2006–6.2007 Museum Staff Ethnology and History Museum Advisory Research Associates Michael Krauss Molly Lee, Curator * Committee and Affiliates Patricia Partnow Aldona Jonaitis, Angela Linn, Collection Manager Katrin Simon Museum Director Mike Cook, Chair Alaska Center for Exhibition & Design Glen Simpson Administration Jane Behlke, Vice Chair Documentary Film Wanda Chin, Director Candy Waugaman Barbara Ellanna, Linda Anderson John Luther Adams Steve Bouta, Chief Preparator Fiscal Professional Michael Burns Fine Arts Steve Martz, Preparator Aquatics John Hagood, Fiscal Technician Karen Cedzo Mary Goodwin Tamara Martz, Nora Foster Andrew Quainton, Mary Jane Fate Charles Mason Production Assistant Assistant to the Director Nadine Hargesheimer Archaeology Kesler Woodward Linda Sheldon, Fiscal Technician Genetic Resources Kirk Lanterman Claire Alix Herbarium Gordon Jarrell, Coordinator Julie Esdale Alaska Center for Jim Lund Richard Bond Caroline Funk Documentary Film Dusty McDonald, Programmer Bob Magee W. Scott Armbruster Erica Hill Leonard Kamerling, Curator* Fine Arts Grace Berg Schaible Reidar Elven William G. Stroecker Jeff Rasic Sarah Fowell Archaeology Scott Nacke, Collection Manager Joseph E. Usibelli Howard Smith Gary Laursen Daniel Odess, Curator* Herbarium Richard Wien Earth Science Robert Lipkin Jeff Rasic, Acting Curator Steffi Ickert-Bond, Curator* Daniel Winfree William A. Clemens Cynthia R. Meyers James Whitney, Alan Batten, Collection Manager Joseph Paine Dudley Barbara Murray Collection Manager Carolyn Parker, Honorary Members Anthony R. Fiorillo Carl Roland Communications Research Professional Senator Ted Stevens R. Dale Guthrie Leslie A. Viereck Kerynn Fisher, Coordinator Governor Frank Murkowski Mammalogy Paul J. McCarthy Donald Walker Link Olson, Curator* Senator Lisa Murkowski Development & Membership Dave Norton Sylvia Brunner, Mammalogy Julie Estey, Director Thomas Hewitt Rich Research Associate Joseph A. Cook Barbara Travis, Friends of the UA John E. Storer Kimberlee Beckmen Membership Coordinator Brandy Jacobsen, Museum Collection Manager Education John Burns Earth Sciences Trina Roberts, Board Members Michelle Bartlett Nikolai Dokuchaev Patrick Druckenmiller, Curator* Postdoctoral Researcher Helen Atkinson Neal Brown Heikki Henttonen Amanda Hanson, Mary Binkley Herminia Wei-hsin Din Stephen O. MacDonald Curatorial Assistant Operations Kevin May, Manager Ted Fathauer Timothy P. Doran Thomas McDonough Education Jackie Goering Lori Quakenbush Ornithology Entomology Laura Conner, Director Don Gray Amy Runck Kevin Winker, Curator* David Guinn Jennifer Arseneau, Kay Hinckley Eric Sargis Daniel Gibson, James Kruse Education Program Leader Ron Inouye Gay Sheffield Collection Manager Alberto Pantoja Peggy Hetman, Emily Kemak Kenelm W. Philip Marcelo Weksler Administrative Assistant Visitor Services Evolyn Melville Jack Whitman Roger Topp, Amy Reed Geiger, Manager Lee O’Hare Ethnology & History Ornithology New Media Producer Daniel David, Store Manager Ellen Whitcher Ann Fienup-Riordan Johannes Erritzoe Entomology Morgan Simpson, Anna Zilberkant Hiroko Ikuta Kevin McCracken Derek Sikes, Curator* Visitor Services Supervisor Steve Jacobson Janet Thompson, Lawrence Kaplan Rose Meier * UAF faculty holding joint appointment Tour Coordinator Heinrich Springer The University of Alaska Museum of the North, located The Year in Numbers on the Fairbanks campus, is the only museum in the state with a tripartite mission of research, teaching, and col- Total attendance: 93,504 Volunteer hours: 7,190 lecting. The museum’s botanical, geological, zoological, Full-time staff equivalent: 3.46 and cultural collections, primarily from Alaska and the Number of free events: 19 Circumpolar North, form the basis for understanding the local as well as the Attendance at other free Acquisitions: 4,646 global past, present, and future. Through collection-based research, teaching, and public programs, the Museum shares its knowledge and collections with events: 4,476 Outgoing loans: 134 local, national, and international audiences of all ages and backgrounds. University of Alaska Museum of the North PO Box 756960 Fairbanks, Alaska 99775 Tel 907.474.7505 Fax 907.474.5469 [email protected] www.uaf.edu/museum Museum Director: Aldona Jonaitis Editor: Kerynn Fisher Design: Dixon Jones Printed at UAF Printing Services (2,000 copies) The University of Alaska Fairbanks is accredited by the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities. UAF is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and educational institution. Front cover, clockwise from upper right. Museum building. • “Her Favorite Color Was Red” by Sonya Kelliher-Combs, purchased with support from the Rasmuson Foundation Art Acquisition Initiative. BARRY MCWAYNE • Dinosaur research winter camp on the Colville River. KEVIN MAY • Entomology curator Derek Sikes. • Ethnology student Lyazzat Khamzina catalogs baskets for the ethnology collection. • Unless indicated, photos by Patricia Fisher/Fisher Photography. Left: Visitors explore the Rose Berry Alaska Art Gallery during the museum’s annual military appreciation day. KERYNN FISHER Opposite page: Aldona Jonaitis. KERYNN FISHER • Visitors to the mammal lab during the annual open house. JONATHAN FIELY From the Director Dear Friends and Supporters, We have a complete roster of nine curatorial positions, an increase When I arrived in Fairbanks in July of four since 1993, with collection manager positions for most of the 1993, anxious to start my new life research collections as well. Our research collections continue to grow. as a museum director in the ex- Our exhibits and public programs continue to be exceptional. Visitors citing North, I had no idea how I of all ages – from schoolchildren to senior citizens on their “trip of a would fare with the moose, mid- lifetime” to Alaska – come away with a deeper understanding of Alaska night sun, 40-below and all the and the North. other new experiences life in As you may have heard, I plan on retiring in November. As I look back Fairbanks would offer. on my 15 years at the museum, my greatest satisfaction comes from the Why did I, a life-long New Yorker, feedback and recognition we received since the new wing opened – a come to Fairbanks? In addition to the region’s beauty and an incredible full-page feature in my hometown paper, The New York Times; a feature sense of community, it was the opportunity to lead what was then – article in Architectural Record; receiving the Governor’s Awards for the and continues to be – the finest museum if its kind: a medium-sized Arts for “lifetime achievement” for an arts organization; and, yes, the re- research and teaching institution. Long before our expansion dreams turn of the major tour companies to the museum, whose visitors praise were realized, this museum’s exhibits, education programs, research and our museum as “the best in Alaska” and “not to be missed.” I knew it years collections were already first rate. ago, but it’s awfully nice to have others recognize it too. Since then, we’ve doubled the size of the museum and expanded our programs to serve new audiences. As you will read in this annual report, our programs continue to be first rate. In fact, we are on a daz- zling trajectory in every area of our mission. FY07 was not only the first year the expanded museum was fully Aldona Jonaitis operational; it was also a year of intensive self-evaluation as part of Museum Director our reaccreditation by the American Association of Museums. Both of these events served as continual reminders of how far we’ve come in the past 15 years. 1 Contents Exhibits 2 Education 3 Visitor Services 4 Research & Collections 5 Publications 8 Reaccreditation Update 9 Staff Professional Service 9 Development & Membership 10 Gifts To The Collections 15 Financial Summary 16 Grants & Contracts 16 Students & Volunteers 17 Longtime Staff Retirements 17 Personal statements from the curators, excerpts from field notebooks Exhibits and tools used in field research gave visitors an introduction to the museum’s researchers and their work. Guest curated by the museum’s faculty curators. Special Exhibits On the Edge: Forging New Directions in Alaska Native Art Museum visitors enjoyed five special exhibits during FY07, each show- The museum’s summer special 2007 exhibit explored the themes of casing unique aspects of life in the North. cultural identity, traditions and change with works by 23 contemporary Arctic National Wildlife Refuge: Seasons of Life and Land Forty- Alaska Native artists, including Sonya Kelliher-Combs, Nicholas Galanin, nine large scale landscape and wildlife portraits by physicist-turned- Preston Singletary and Da-ka-xeen Mehner. Some works featured media photographer Subhankar Banerjee illustrated four seasons of abundant not traditionally used in Alaska Native art, while others used traditional life in the Arctic Refuge. The museum was the only Alaska venue on a media like beads, fur and whalebone in unusual forms. Guest curated national tour organized by the California Academy of Sciences. by museum director Aldona Jonaitis and fine arts collection manager POLARities: Aesthetics/Experiments/Observations Recent works Scott Nacke. by a selection of Alaskan artists explored the connections between science and the artists’ inspiration and creative processes. Guest cu- Long-term Exhibits rated by Annie Duffy and presented in conjunction with the American Throughout the year, exhibition staff added to the