FOR IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
December 11, 2006
Press Contacts
202-653-4628
Kevin O'Connell, koconnell@imls.gov
Mamie Bittner, mbittner@imls.gov
IMLS to Explore Feasibility of State Formula
Grant for Museums
Washington, DC--Dr.
Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Director of the Institute of Museum
and Library Services (IMLS), announced today that the
agency will undertake an effort to explore the feasibility
of formula grants to the states to support museum services.
Dr. Radice said, “For fifty years
there has been a population-based formula grant to each
state and the territories to support library services.
In recent years the museum community has been engaged
in discussions about the feasibility of a similar program
for museum services, and the agency has received several
requests from members of Congress to explore the issue.
This is a serious issue and must be fully examined by
bringing a variety of voices to the table. I have asked
Celeste Colgan to lead this effort. Celeste is an outstanding
strategist and policy advisor with a passion for education
and a keen interest in the role of cultural institutions
in the United States. I am delighted that she has agreed
to take on this important task.”
In the coming year Dr. Colgan will review
relevant funding models and work with community leaders,
museum professionals, and educators across the country
to convene local hearings to investigate the public’s
needs for museum services and the potential for meeting
these needs through federal grants to the states. She
will also convene national leaders to discuss her findings.
A report will be published in December 2007.
Dr. Colgan is a consultant on higher education
academic matters and the intermountain coordinator for
the American Council of Trustees and Alumni for teacher
preparation reform. Her academic and policy roles have
included senior fellow at the National Center for Policy
Analysis (NCPA), director of the State of Wyoming Department
of Commerce, and deputy chairman of the National Endowment
for the Humanities. She was also an adjunct professor
at the University of Wyoming and the chairman of the Division
of Language and Literature at Casper College. Dr. Colgan
received a B.A. and M.A. from the University of Wyoming
and a Ph.D. from the University of Maryland.
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