 Volume XXXIII, No. 2, Fall 2001 |
| Volume XXXIII, No. 2, Fall 2001 |
|
Center
for the History of Physics
The Executive Committee of the Friends of the Center for History of Physics met on May 24, 2001, in Cambridge, MA to discuss the Center's endowment. Members discussed the mission and programs of the Center and the groups who stood to benefit the most from its activities. While the Center's primary clienteles seem to be the scientists who have their unpublished papers preserved and indexed, and the historians and archivists who work with these papers, the general public—including historians, school children, authors, scientists and others—use the Center on a daily basis to find authentic information on the lives of scientists and their discoveries. The good works of the Center clearly benefit a broad group of individuals.
The Committee next examined the Center's endowment and long-term financial picture, and determined that it would be necessary to increase the endowment to ensure the financial stability and endurance of the Center's education and outreach programs. For many years the Center has received the bulk of its funding from the American Institute of Physics, but with lowering revenue projections based on assumptions of e-publishing and the reduction in journal purchases, the Center needs to become more self-sustaining. Therefore the Committee seeks to endow a selection of the Center's education, outreach and preservation programs. These programs are expected to have strong value for those served by the Center. The types of programs that will most benefit from a stronger endowment are:
The Oral History Interviewing Program -about $300,000 to endow a portion of the program.
Education Outreach - about $600,000 to staff and augment this program.
On-line Resources - about $800,000. World Wide Web Exhibit Hall - about $1,000,000.
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