Open Letter to Leadership of the California Academy of Sciences
Dear California Academy of Sciences Executive Director – Scott Sampson, Chief of Science and Dean of Science and Research Collections – Shannon Bennett, and Board of Trustees President – Elizabeth Blackburn:
We are writing you in response to the recent reduction in curatorial staff at the California Academy of Sciences. The Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) stands firmly in support of systematic biologists and scientific collections. As an international scientific society, in addition to advocating for diverse systematic research communities, we support collections globally and advocate for equitable access to collections resources.
Natural history collections play a unique and irreplaceable role in archiving biodiversity information. Collections are snapshots of biodiversity that serve as references for taxonomy, systematics, and biodiversity research, while also being resources for research in such diverse fields as ecology, chemistry, physics, material science, engineering, and public health. SSB advocates for the development, growth, care, maintenance, and scientific use for collections, noting that each collection is unique and scientifically valuable. These collections are invaluable resources that document the world’s biodiversity and species’ response to a changing environment.
We are deeply concerned about the layoffs of curatorial staff at the California Academy of Sciences. Such reductions in personnel disrupt important biodiversity research, reduce the accessibility of collections for researchers, and increase the gap between the public good and our biodiversity heritage. While caring for and maintaining collections are critical roles of museums, so is having trained specialists conducting active research on these important holdings and making them available for the scientific community and the general public. We urge the California Academy of Sciences to take immediate action to remedy this situation.
Prof. Corrie S. Moreau
President
Society of Systematic Biologists
We are writing you in response to the recent reduction in curatorial staff at the California Academy of Sciences. The Society of Systematic Biologists (SSB) stands firmly in support of systematic biologists and scientific collections. As an international scientific society, in addition to advocating for diverse systematic research communities, we support collections globally and advocate for equitable access to collections resources.
Natural history collections play a unique and irreplaceable role in archiving biodiversity information. Collections are snapshots of biodiversity that serve as references for taxonomy, systematics, and biodiversity research, while also being resources for research in such diverse fields as ecology, chemistry, physics, material science, engineering, and public health. SSB advocates for the development, growth, care, maintenance, and scientific use for collections, noting that each collection is unique and scientifically valuable. These collections are invaluable resources that document the world’s biodiversity and species’ response to a changing environment.
We are deeply concerned about the layoffs of curatorial staff at the California Academy of Sciences. Such reductions in personnel disrupt important biodiversity research, reduce the accessibility of collections for researchers, and increase the gap between the public good and our biodiversity heritage. While caring for and maintaining collections are critical roles of museums, so is having trained specialists conducting active research on these important holdings and making them available for the scientific community and the general public. We urge the California Academy of Sciences to take immediate action to remedy this situation.
Prof. Corrie S. Moreau
President
Society of Systematic Biologists