Natural Science Collections Alliance
Our members are part of an international community of museums, botanical gardens, herbariums, universities and other institutions that house natural science collections and utilize them in research, exhibitions, academic and informal science education, and outreach activities.
On March 10, 2014 the Smithsonian Institution selected Dr. David J. Skorton to be the 13th Secretary of the Smithsonian. Skorton will succeed the retiring G. Wayne Clough. Similar to Clough, who was president of the Georgia Institute of Technology, Skorton spent nearly eleven years as a college president, first at the University of Iowa […]
President Obama’s budget request for fiscal year (FY) 2015 requests $7.255 billion for the National Science Foundation (NSF). This is a proposed increase of $83.1 million, or 1.2 percent over the FY 2014 appropriation. The proposed funding increase would be directed to education activities and for agency operations. Each of these budget accounts would increase […]
President Obama released his proposed budget for fiscal year (FY) 2015 on 4 March 2014. The new fiscal year begins on 1 October 2014. The plan would provide $1.014 trillion for discretionary spending, the same level agreed to in the December 2013 Ryan-Murray budget accord. Most federal science agencies would receive a small budget increase […]
U.S. Representative Rush Holt (D-NJ) announced on February 18, 2014 that he would be retiring at the end of his current term. Holt has served in Congress since 1998. He is one of a handful of scientists in Congress. Holt has a Ph.D. in Physics and is a former professor at Swarthmore College. “There is […]
The Natural Sciences Collections Alliance is sharing the following opportunity with collections professionals. Katharine Corriveau, a graduate student in museum studies at John F. Kennedy University, is conducting a survey of natural history museum curators, collection managers, researchers and other collections professionals. Her research focuses on understanding the challenges that face the preservation and growth […]
A symposium, ‘Collections for the 21st Century,’ sponsored by iDigBio and the NSC Alliance, will be held on May 5-6, 2014, in Gainesville, Florida. It will emphasize the value of collections data in meeting challenges facing biodiversity and human societies. The symposium will feature a full day of talks on May 5 and a half–day […]
In mid-January, Congress overwhelmingly approved a $1.012 trillion spending plan to fund the federal government for the remainder of fiscal year (FY) 2014, which runs through 30 September 2014. The plan (HR 3547) will increase funding by $44 billion above the levels established by a 2011 budget deal. The law, also called an omnibus, is […]
In 2013, the NSC Alliance engaged in a number of notable activities to raise the profile of natural history collections with policymakers, researchers, and the general public. A few highlights are presented below: Sponsored a symposium with iDigBio on digitization and dissemination of natural history data. The event was held at the 2013 Society for […]
As of March 2014, the newsletter of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections will be published in an electronic format. This will bring greater opportunities for advertising, active linking, sharing via social media, and multimedia capabilities. The newsletter will have an e-book format, with the feel of a magazine, but none of […]
The House Science Subcommittee on Research and Technology held a hearing on 14 January 2014 on scientific research at the Smithsonian Institution. The hearing provided the leadership of the Smithsonian an opportunity to showcase its varied scientific research programs. Six Representatives attended the hearing: Chairman Larry Bucshon (R-IN), Ranking Member Daniel Lipinski (D-IL), Thomas Massie […]