November 16, 2009

Dear University Community, Alumni and Friends,

As you know, the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center (MSRC) is a preeminent repository of memorabilia and collections chronicling the lives of African descendants throughout the Diaspora.

Without question, Moorland-Spingarn is a Howard treasure as well as a national treasure and the University is unequivocally determined to preserve it.

MSRC houses 175,000 bound volumes, tens of thousands of journals, more than 17,000 feet of manuscript and archival collections; nearly 1,000 audio tapes; hundreds of artifacts including the desk on which the University’s charter was signed.

The recent article “Moorland-Spingarn May Be Forced to Close” published in The Hilltop questions the future of the MSRC. This story sparked articles and outcries across the country. We have received your letters, emails and Facebook messages. Please be assured that the University will not close Moorland-Spingarn and there were never plans to do so.

Despite recent budget cuts across the University to weather the economic downturn, we have not reduced funding to the Center. In fact, a national search will begin shortly to find a permanent director to continue the stellar work Dr. Thomas Battle has done for more than two decades. The new leader will also expand the “Friends of MSRC” fundraising program launched in 1996 and explore ways to attract additional financial support for a stronger Moorland-Spingarn.

The vision for Moorland-Spingarn is to further increase its scope and reposition its relevance as Howard strengthens its research agenda. Again, I would like to abate your individual and collective fears about Moorland’s sustainability and its preservation for other generations of scholars.

Thank you for your support of this great University.

Sincerely,

Sidney A. Ribeau
President