Brandeis Drops a Bomb

The Boston Globe is reporting that Brandeis University, looking to bridge a budget deficit that may go as high as $10 million, has decided to close its Rose Art Museum and sell off its entire 6000 object collection. I’ve always taken the position that one reason to take the “slippery slope” argument against deaccessioning seriously is that when it comes to campus collections the slope gets more slippery all the time. Campus museums, chock full of art that’s easy to cart away, are the most tempting asset for university trustees and administrators to liquidate. This is what I meant.