Challenges facing university museums

Abstract

Universities have apparently enthusiastically embraced new ventures in taking on responsibilities for cultural institutions, such as museums and theatres. Museums, especially, have long been integral to campuses, growing out of teaching collections, particularly in fields of science and the humanities - for herbaria and medical collections on the one hand and antiquities and art collections on the other. Indeed, art collections have occasionally developed independently from the teaching and learning functions of universities, posing questions about their 'fit' with the core business of the contemporary, corporate university.

Algumas imiversidades parecem mostrar entusiasmo em abraçar novos desafios, nomeadamente a tutela cultural de museus e de teatros. Os museus, em particular, hâ muito que fazem parte integrante dos campus e resultam de colecçoes de ensino ' especialmente nos dominios das ciências e das humanidades - desde herbârios a colecçoes médicas até antiguidades e colecçoes de arte. Na realidade, as colecçoes de arte constituiram-se por vezes independentemente das actividades de ensino das universidades, colocando questôes sobre a sua inserçâo nas funçôes nucleares de urna universidade contemporanea.