TracksSpring 2018 Newsletter Vol. 30, No. 1 IN THIS ISSUE “Fluent Generations” “Celestial Siblings” Live Paint Q&A with Yatika Fields Lizards of the West Pacific Islands Contents generations FluentThe Art of Anita, Tom and Yatika Fields Fluent Generations 4 Exhibition Catalog Available in Excavations the Museum Store 10 $19.95 4 8 13 14 sam noble oklahoma museum of natural history • university of oklahoma FEATURES AND DEPARTMENTS 4 FROM THE DIRECTOR 12 NEWS TRACKS, SPRING 2018 VOLUME 30, NO. 1 Thirty Years at the Helm 2018 Volunteer of the Year 8 EXHIBITION 13 NEWS MUSEUM INFORMATION OUR MISSION TRACKS “Fluent Generations: The Art of Anita, Tom Research Doubles Native Mammal Species Address The Sam Noble Museum at the Editor-in-Chief: Michael A. Mares and Yatika Fields” in Hawaii Sam Noble Museum University of Oklahoma inspires Managing Editor: Pam McIntosh The University of Oklahoma minds to understand the world Associate Editor: Hannah Pike 9 EXHIBITION 14 NEWS 2401 Chautauqua Ave. through collection-based research, “Celestial Siblings: Parallel Landscapes of Earth Lizards of the West Pacific Islands Norman, OK 73072-7029 interpretation and education. This publication is printed on paper and Mars containing 30 percent post consumer ON THE FRONT COVER: Telephone: (405) 325-4712 OUR VISION recycled fiber. Please recycle. 10 NEWS Yatika Fields painting mural in Brown Gallery. Photo by As one of the finest museums, we are at Live Paint Q&A with Yatika Fields Hannah Pike Email: [email protected] This publication, printed by the Sam Noble the heart of our community, collectively ON THE BACK COVER: Museum, is issued by the University of Oklahoma. working to inspire understanding, Megalodon: The Largest Shark that Ever Lived. Photo Web: SamNobleMuseum.ou.edu 1,800 copies have been prepared and distributed appreciation and stewardship of the courtesy of the Florida Museum of Natural History at at a cost of $1,600 to the taxpayers of the state of the University of Florida earth and its peoples. Oklahoma. Thanks to our 2018 corporate sponsors and partners: The University of Oklahoma, in compliance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, Fowler Honda, Jones PR Inc., WhittenBurrage, Arvest Bank and the Adventure Road. sexual orientation, genetic information, gender identity, gender expression, age, religion, disability, political beliefs, or status as a veteran in any of its policies, practices or procedures. This includes, but is not limited to: admissions, employment, financial aid and educational services. Inquiries regarding non-discrimination policies may be directed to: Bobby J. Mason, University Equal Opportunity Officer and Title IX Coordinator, (405) 325-3546, [email protected], or visit ou.edu/eoo. 2 SAM NOBLE MUSEUM | TRACKS, SPRING 2018: VOLUME 30 NO. 1 THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA | SAM NOBLE MUSEUM 3 Thirty Years at the Helm y goal as a college freshman was to be a medical doctor, but I was not very firm in my career M choice. I enjoyed reading and writing most of all, but was uncertain what kind of future that would hold. A college student’s goals are often unformed and uninformed. In my junior year, I took a course in mammalogy, the study of mammals, and made a field trip to Mexico collecting mammals far down the west coast of Mexico. I had found my life’s work—to study mammals around the world. I loved the hard work and adventures living in the field. Of course, Above, from left: Michael Mares with Mary Jane Noble, Oklahoma philanthropist and widow of the late Samuel Russell Noble; OU President David L. Boren; Campaign Council Chair W.R. Howell, Sen. Cal Hobson and Rep. discovering new things about mammal species was uniquely Carolyn Taylor at the ribbon cutting for the museum in 2000; Mares with the late Bob Barry and OU head football coach Bob Stoops in 2003; and Mares in the field in Arizona in 1980 Michael Mares and exciting. If I had made a list of 100 career choices that I granddaughter, Abigail might pursue, museum director would have been at or near Bruce Bell left the Stovall after two years and Dr. Gary Schnell became interim director. Dr. Ken Hoving, dean of the the bottom. Graduate School and vice provost for research, asked if I would be interim director after Gary. I said no, I wasn’t going to be interim anything, and for good measure I did not want to be director. He said that he would offer me the I did my doctoral research on mammals of the deserts of Argentina and the United States from late 1970 through director title for only two years and I could go back to doing my research. Being the only Ph.D.-level staff member, 1973. I returned from Argentina and moved to the University of Pittsburgh in 1973, returning to Argentina in 1974. I felt I had to say yes; after all, it was only for two years—two years that became 30. At Pitt, I was able to do field research in U.S. deserts and in Egypt, Iran, Argentina and Brazil. The story of the development of the Sam Noble Museum has been told many times. Suffice to say that it was a shock After a sabbatical year living in Tucson and conducting research in the Arizona and California deserts, returning to me that not many people really wanted a new museum, including some top administrators at OU. As Gomer Pyle to Pittsburgh was difficult to contemplate. I missed the west with its vistas so I looked for a job farther west. would say, “Surprise, surprise, surprise.” Field biologists are tenacious, however, and I resolved that I was going to I interviewed at Texas Tech and at OU for a position in zoology and a curator position at the Stovall Museum. I chose work to get us out of the horrendous facility we were in and into a new, decent museum. I had no idea what the Norman and remember telling my wife on the phone that, unlike Lubbock, there were hills and forests in Norman. cost of those dreams would be. It seemed true at the time. Perhaps after Lubbock Mt. Williams looked like the Alps! OU had remarkable instability in administrators. Since my arrival, and until David Boren’s tenure began, there had The Stovall Museum was a dusty substandard museum with the worst buildings I had encountered anywhere in the been nine different presidents and interim presidents, a small army of provosts, deans and minor administrators. world. It included barns, stables, abandoned WWII military barracks, a wooden gun shed, and basements and attics Some knew nothing of museums; some thought the museum should go away since it was not an academic across campus. The fire marshal said it would burn down in seven minutes. What a mess! There were no curators department; others supported the idea of a new natural history museum. No one knew how to make the dream a paid by the museum and collection care ranged from spotty to none. The museum sat in the middle of Tornado reality. Alley, where violent thunderstorms were common. How had it not burned down or blown away? The museum’s collections were remarkable and rich, but even the show-stopper collection, the enormous fossil dinosaurs, had not Without significant university support, I took the case for a new museum to the people and their elected had an active curator in a half century and specimens were wrapped in plaster and newspapers just as when they had representatives, who were enthusiastic about a major natural history museum in Norman. Supporters included been collected in the Great Depression. Neglect was everywhere. private foundations, state politicians, Norman business people and many others. Donations from foundations permitted making illustrations to show what a new museum might look like. These funds also supported publication As curator of mammals my job was to build, research and develop the mammal collection, and I set about doing that. of a book I wrote, Heritage at Risk, detailing the beauty and the potential catastrophic loss of the irreplaceable I met with director Dr. Bruce Bell shortly after I arrived. He said that he wanted someone independent, a person collections that were hidden away in stables. who did not need handholding or that had to see him all the time. I replied that if I didn’t see him again that would be fine with me. Whoa, he said, I don’t know if I want someone that independent! Conducting international field I was selling a dream, and people responded to it. The City of Norman passed a bond issue of $5 million to get the research forces someone to be independent and make major decisions on the spot, for there is no one to ask. project underway, then it was matched by $15 million from the State of Oklahoma. After that, the university became more supportive of the project. OU Development got involved and soon raised another $17.5 million, with a $10 million donation by the family and companies of Sam Noble providing a cornerstone donation to complete the goal. 4 SAM NOBLE MUSEUM | TRACKS, SPRING 2018: VOLUME 30 NO. 1 THE UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA | SAM NOBLE MUSEUM 5 Right: Michael Mares If a museum is like a ship, then I was asked to take the helm during a particularly dangerous storm. There is no real with family members of operating manual to tell you what to do in that situation. By trying to expand the museum and its role on campus, Dorothy C.