Reunion Weekend and Conference
"Educated at Winterthur: A Half Century of Achievement"
September 21-22, 2001

The Winterthur Programs, '51 to '01: Are We There Yet?
by Charles F. Hummel (WPEAC '55)
(as presented on September 21, 2001)

(page 10) Given the number of competitive programs now in existence, the many options open to students considering graduate training for museum and museum-related jobs, and the competition for museum jobs by applicants possessing a Ph.D., serious consideration should be given to lengthening WPEAC to a three-year program. Not a Ph.D. program, for that is not a realistic option. Over the fifty-year existence of WPEAC, there has been a constant lament that there are too many areas of learning and experience to be covered in a two-year period. A third year could be devoted to any or some of the following: 1. Internship in museums outside of Winterthur, using the model successfully followed by the Art Conservation Program. 2. Internship at Winterthur to gain specific experience with its rich collections. 3. Pursuit of a museum studies certificate, virtually impossible to achieve in the present two-year program. 4. A full year of research leading to a publishable thesis. Adding a third year would require serious fund-raising to support Fellows at a significant level. The Art Conservation Program's experience has been that many of its third-year internships have resulted in the creation of permanent jobs. Some will argue that one cannot expect students to spend a third year in order to receive their degree and go to work in a low-paying profession. But art conservation program Fellows do just that. The question of how much guiding should be required of WPEAC Fellows is still a recurring issue. It is one directly related to Fellows truly knowing Winterthur's collections and interpretation of collections to the public. At present, the guiding requirement is only six days per year, a requirement that can be filled in ways other than escorting visitors on tours of the collections. Such a minimal requirement does not seem conducive to obtaining an in-depth knowledge of Winterthur's collections. An area requiring serious attention of both institutions, but especially at Winterthur, is capitalizing on the distinguished record of these co-sponsored graduate programs in order to increase endowment support for current and future needs of the programs. The possible need for a third year of support for WPEAC Fellows has already been noted. Here are other needs and concerns requiring a significant infusion of funds if the programs are to remain first-rate. 1. Staffing: Given the proliferation of programs and responsibilities at Winterthur during the past fifty years, more teaching curators are needed to assure that Fellows of WPEAC and WUDPAC leave with a thorough knowledge of American material culture. The teaching and care-of-collection demands on the conservation staff require assistance from advanced interns, post-graduate Fellows and assistant conservators. Art history is a major part of Fellows' learning while at Winterthur. The Art History department at the University has lost professors with a strong interest in American art in recent years. Professors Craven, Homer, Stillman, and Tatum are gone and have not been replaced by leading scholars of American art. In the last two searches conducted by the Art History Department, the recommendations of Winterthur's Advanced Studies Section were not considered. The recruitment of outstanding faculty at both institutions is vital to the continued success of their co-sponsored graduate programs. It is time to put in place a mechanism to assure joint appointments for positions defined as teaching at both Winterthur and the University. It is also past time to provide permanent financial support for the Henry Francis du Pont professorships in the University's, Art History, English, and History Departments. 2. Stipends: Essential to the continued success of the graduate programs is attracting the brightest and best students to apply to the co-sponsored programs. WUDPAC Fellows receive stipends of $10,500, $11,000, and $12,000 in their first, second, and third years of study. WPEAC Fellows currently receive $12,500 each year with almost annual cost-of-living increases in their stipend. The University of Delaware has waived tuition for both WPEAC and WUDPAC Fellows, absorbing those costs for many years. These sums may seem munificent compared to the initial stipend of $2,000 per year paid during the early years of WPEAC. From that sum, tuition had to be paid to the University. But consider that, today, the average paid to other graduate students receiving stipends at the University of Delaware is $12,000. Consider, also that Heritage Foundation undergraduate Fellows receive a stipend of $7,500 for a twelve-week period of study at Old Deerfield. More important, consider inflation rates over the past forty-nine years. The fact is that many Winterthur Fellows are forced to incur large debts prior to their leaving to obtain low-paying jobs.

"They should make all these old railroad stations into museums, and we could be traveling curators."         Internship in conservation             "I wish our friends wouldn't strain so to give us something we didn't already have."

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