The Study Center at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University

FAIN: CH-50295-06

Cornell University (Ithaca, NY 14850-2820)
Franklin W. Robinson (Project Director: May 2005 to November 2009)

Construction of a study center in the university's art museum and endowment for educational programming and salary for a half-time education coordinator.

The Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University is planning to build an extension--the Study Center--on the north side of the current museum building, a landmark structure designed by I.M. Pei in 1973; the architect-in-charge for that building was John Sullivan, who still works for Mr. Pei's firm, Pei Cobb Freed. The Study Center is being designed by Mr. Sullivan, working closely with I.M. Pei. The Study Center will have, on two levels, a total of 13,000 gross square feet, or about 9,000 net square feet. The Study Center will include several important functions, all of which will enhance the impact of the humanities on this campus and which are central to our current five-year plan: a public gallery, for special exhibitions and for selections from the permanent collection; open, or "visible" storage, for the display of large numbers of works from the collection with computer work stations and reference materials; a lecture room, seminar room, workshop room, and library; closed storage, for the Asian collection and other parts of the collections; and curatorial and education offices. Programming in the Study Center will include courses for university students, for schoolchildren, and for adults; free gallery handouts and other materials; a Palm Pilot tour of open storage; and demonstrations and workshops, among other activities. These programs will be supervised by a half-time endowed program coordinator for the Study Center. In this way, the Johnson Museum will become the laboratory for the humanities on this campus. We are applying to the National Endowment for the Humanities for $500,000, to be matched by $2,000,000, for a total of $2,500,000. Of this amount, $1,000,000 would be used for construction costs, and $1,500,000 would be used as endowment for programming.