Access

Published online 23 December 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.1333

News

Downturn hits Chicago's natural history museum

Staff and science cut as museum's endowments crash.

The venerable Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago is cutting its budget by 15% — laying off staff, paring salaries and cancelling projects — after being hit by the economic recession. The value of the museum's endowment has plunged by nearly US$100 million (31%) in the past six months.

Comments

Reader comments are usually moderated after posting. If you find something offensive or inappropriate, you can speed this process by clicking 'Report this comment' (or, if that doesn't work for you, email webadmin@nature.com). For more controversial topics, we reserve the right to moderate before comments are published.

  • I have very fond memories of visiting the museum as a child in the late 1940's. It is one of those eternal places that should be preserved as long as possible. It is sad to see the economic down turn affecting the intellectual pillars of our society. D G Danforth

    • 24 Dec, 2008
    • Posted by: Douglas Danforth
  • oh my god to my sad

    • 26 Dec, 2008
    • Posted by: Ma Kunpeng
  • Please note that while the Biodiversity Synthesis Center at the Field Museum is indeed collaborating closely with the Tree of Life web project, it is not a component of TOLWeb. BioSynC is a primary component of the Encyclopedia of Life (www.eol.org).

    • 26 Dec, 2008
    • Posted by: Richard Ree