The Sternberg Museum of Natural History in Hays will close this year.
Fort Hays State University President Tisa Mason announced the decision in a statement late Monday, confirming earlier reports that the university can no longer afford to operate the museum.
She said it will close Dec. 18.
Mason told the Hays City Commission during a meeting last week that the school faces a $2.4 million cut in state funding and needs to eliminate any programs that do not directly benefit students.
“The key question that we are asking is, ‘If we stopped this activity tomorrow, would students be less likely to enroll, persist, graduate, or secure successful employment, and can we back that up with data?'" Mason said.
Mason said in the statement that the Sternberg "has not been financially stable for some time." It spends about $1.3 million a year and generates about $470,000 in revenue from visitors, memberships grants and sales, she said.
The building that houses the museum also has about $20 million in deferred maintenance.
"Over the past decade, the annual subsidy averaged about $835,000," she said in the statement. "For a university that is already the leanest operator among the Kansas Board of Regents universities, that is not a gap we can close on our own."
Mason said closing the museum will save the university about $850,000 — about a third of the current budget gap and "the largest single piece of our solution."
She said Fort Hays State plans about $1 million in other cuts across the university and still needs to find about $550,000 to close the budget gap.
"When you cut into your leanest, most efficient state university, you are not trimming excess. You are cutting into muscle," Mason said.
According to a study by the Docking Institute of Public Affairs, Fort Hays State has an annual impact of more than $240 million on its region, and is the No. 2 employer in Ellis County.
Mason said closing the Sternberg was a difficult decision, and pointed to state lawmakers as the cause.
"The frustration in our community right now is real, and it is understandable. However, its true source is not a disagreement about whether Sternberg belongs in our academic mission. It does; that was never in question," Mason said.
"The real source is a funding model that has asked more of FHSU than it asks of its peers, and a set of legislative decisions that made $2.4 million in cuts, with more likely on the way."
Supporters of the Sternberg have urged the university and local officials to reconsider.
Jessica Lamb, who works on the museum's animal care team, told city leaders last week that she worries what will happen to about 100 live animals housed in the Sternberg.
"Right now, we are terrified. We are heartbroken. We have cried nonstop with thinking about having to say goodbye to these animals, our babies, our families," Lamb said.
"We are more than a building or a budget, we are a true living and breathing part of the community of Hays.”
Some supporters said Fort Hays should eliminate athletic programs before closing the Sternberg.
"I think athletics is a vital part of a university, but I'm not sure that a Division II campus of 4,000 people needs 15 competitive sports that have to be funded at all kinds of levels," said Cathy Van Doren, is a former director of development for Fort Hays State.
The museum was established in 1902 and is named for Hays paleontologist George Sternberg. Its dome-shaped concrete building was constructed in the 1980s.
The museum houses about 3 million specimens, including world-famous marine fossils from 80 million years ago.
Mason said museum faculty and staff will remain on appointment for this year and will focus their work on reviewing the collections and deciding what should be retained for active research and teaching.
The university plans to "work with appropriate organizations to ensure every specimen is handled responsibly and legally," she said.
"This is not a decision I make lightly," Mason said. "The Sternberg Museum is woven into the identity of this university and this region."
