Job Opportunity in South Texas

Do you have heritage tourism-related experience? Are you interested in a challenging, yet extremely rewarding job in South Texas helping tell the real stories of the Texas Tropical Trail Region? If so then consider applying for the Tropical Trail Regional Coordinator position.

Salary is $30,000-$33,000 annually depending upon experience and the coordinator is an employee of the Texas Tropical Trail Region Board of Directors. Application deadline is January 5, 2009 or until filled.

For additional information, including how and where to apply, go here.

And please feel free to pass this on to anyone you think might be interested.

Diversity Internships in Historic Preservation

2009 THC PRESERVATION FELLOWS PROGRAM
Diversity Internships in Historic Preservation

The Texas Historical Commission (THC) seeks to increase the diversity of professionals working in historic preservation, acknowledge the variety of cultures that enrich Texas’ heritage and engage a wider range of organizations and communities in supporting efforts to protect and preserve the history of our state. The THC Preservation Fellows Program was created to build interest in and awareness of historic preservation, specifically among students from underrepresented ethnic groups. This initiative targets undergraduate and graduate students to encourage their interest in pursuing fields of study in history, preservation, architecture, landscape architecture, archeology, downtown revitalization and heritage tourism. Preservation Fellows receive a $5,000 stipend for eight weeks of employment (40-hour week) under the supervision of the THC, either at its headquarters in Austin or “in the field” with an associated preservation organization such as a Main Street program, a heritage tourism program, a history museum or a historical association.

Eligibility
· U.S. citizens of African, Hispanic/Latino, Asian or Native American/Hawaiian/Alaskan heritage
· Sophomore level or above
· Attending a college, university, junior college or community college in Texas, or a Texas resident attending school out-of-state
· Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or above on a 4.0 system (or comparable GPA)
· Prior recipients are ineligible

This year we especially welcome applications from:

o Students of landscape architecture
o Students from the following counties in East Texas: Angelina, Jasper, Nacogdoches, Newton, Polk, Sabine, San Augustine, San Jacinto, Shelby, Cherokee, Trinity or Tyler;
o Students who attend Stephen F. Austin State University or Angelina College.

Deadline: Applications must be postmarked by December 31, 2008.

To download application, please go to the Texas Historical Commission site.

What direction should the MIC take?

Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with Ruth Ann Rugg, the new director of the Texas Association of Museums (TAM). Ruth Ann set up the meeting so that she could get a better grasp of the MIC's purpose and goals. She also wanted to find out how else TAM could support the MIC. We discussed the origins of the MIC, which go back to the 1990s, when a group of TAM members wrote the Action Plan. Then I told Ruth Ann that ten years later, TAM wanted to review if anything had changed in those ten years. After an unofficial survey and talking to other museum professionals, we came to the conclusion that sadly, museums still lacked diversity in their staff, boards, exhibits, interpretations and audience. Many of the issues remained relevant ten years later. That is why in 2005, the MIC became an official affinity group.

Ruth Ann asked some interesting questions that I want to share with you: What is our role within the museum community? How can we keep on being relevant in the ever changing role of museums? Is the name "multicultural" really what we are about, or do we really mean diversity?

Those of us who have worked in this committee know that we don't want to be viewed as a group of and for ethnic minorities alone. Our role is much, much larger than that. But how do we get that message across? And how do we get all museums involved? Because really, this topic impacts every single museum and staff person.

Please feel free to share your comments. This is a good time to reflect on where the MIC has been and where we need to go.

Expanding Informal Science for Latinos

Please excuse this cross-posting from Museum-Ed:

EXPANDING INFORMAL SCIENCE FOR LATINOS

NEW DATES: March 26-29, 2009

Acceso Hispano/Self-Reliance Foundation is organizing a conference that has the overarching goal of laying the groundwork for the development of strategic partnerships for involving Latino audiences in informal science learning, led by informal science institutions nationwide. The conference, originally scheduled for 2008, will be held in Albuquerque, NM, March 26-29, 2009. (Funding for the conference has been formally awarded by the National Science Foundation.)

The conference will bring 100+ representatives from informal science institutions and science research organizations together with Hispanic organizations, media, and educational projects to review current ISE resources, identify needs and gaps, learn about best practices in designing culturally effective programs and resources, and develop new strategies and resources to enrich the informal science learning environment for Latinos.

Conference sessions will include presentations by ISE researchers and program evaluators, experienced program developers, and Hispanic media and marketing experts, which will provide a solid foundation for planning workshops focused around strategic issues identified by conference participants. The conference will include: (1) an interactive blog preceding the conference that will begin discussions on conference issues; (2) Print resource materials distributed at the conference, which will include abstracts of research presented, descriptions of model programs, a directory and contact information for conference presenters and participants, and other useful resources; (3) a status report from the conference including conference proceedings, recommendations, and action plans; and (4) Web-based information and resources, presented in a wiki that will enable the resource base to grow. The conference builds on project partnerships Acceso Hispano has developed through its NSF-funded Celebra la Ciencia and ConCiencia/Hispanic Science Newswire projects, as well as the strong interest of additional organizations contacted about the conference.

Further information, including scholarship applications, can be found at:

celebralaciencia.org. Registration will be available soon.

My apologies for any inconvenience caused by the rescheduling. Please contact me directly if you need any additional information.

Robert L. Russell, Ph.D.
Science Advisor, Self-Reliance Foundation
Project Director, Celebra la Ciencia & ConCiencia/Hispanic Science Newswire
(202) 360-4117 (office) (202) 997-5539 (cell)
bob.russell@srfdc.org

www.celebralaciencia.org
www.selfreliancefoundation.org

1126 16th St. NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20036

Please Support our Efforts

To become a member of the MIC, please fill out the membership form above and return it to our treasurer with your $10 dues. You can download the form by clicking on the Scribd button on the top, left. Your contribution will directly impact future workshops, sessions, and other programs and resources that the MIC provides. Our hope is to sponsor a workshop at the 2010 Texas Association of Museums annual meeting. In addition, your dues will enable the MIC to sponsor some dynamic speakers in the future. If you have other ideas of how you would like to see your dues spent for the good of the museum community and they public the serve, please feel free to leave your comments here.

Two Nations, Two Museums, One Goal...

This is a perfect example of how museums can bring about education, understanding and acceptance of diverse cultures. Way to go El Paso Museum of Art and Museo de Arte Ciudad Juarez!


Art Binational -2008- Binacional de Arte the first binational juried exhibition:

"The purpose of this juried exhibition is to bring together artists and their art from a defined circular region along the US – Mexico Border with El Paso, Texas and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua in the center, Tucson, Arizona in the west, Santa Fe, New Mexico in the north, Midland/Odessa, Texas in the east, and Chihuahua City in the south. The museums want to examine what ideas, styles, and themes are being shared, and to identify if there is, indeed, a unique style emerging from this area."

Texas Historical Commission to Address Gaps in State History

This is a great opportunity to bring long overdue attention to the largely untold history of some of the minority communities of our state.

Over the next several weeks, the Texas Historical Commission will accept nominations for qualified topics for the historic marker application fund. Through this fund, the THC can address under told or untold aspect of Texas history by

· Paying for a marker for an underrepresented topic which meets documentation requirements, when financial assistance is not available
· Sharing the cost of a marker with County Historical Commission or other interested party
· Conducting a site visit to research and document a qualified historic property or topic
· Hiring a professional historian to complete local research for one site or a thematic study

This program is meant to address gaps in the interpretation of Texas history!

If you have any suggestions for a place that deserves a state marker, please email Bob Brinkman with the information you have. The more documentation on the site that you can provide, the better. If you would like to discuss this program before you email the THC, please feel free to email me.