Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts Volume 10, Number 1 Fall, 1980 eee a MUSEUM OF COMPARATIVE ZOOLOGY eet a Philip J. Darlineton, Jr. MCZ Researchers Developing Close Australian Ties During the last year there has been a marked increase in traffic between the MCZ and scientific in- stitutions in Australia. ~ Dr. John Kirsch with tame Bennett’s wallabies in Tasmania. Photo by Michelle V. Scott MCZ researchers who have traveled ‘down under’ recently include Dr. Alfred F. Newton and Margaret K. Thayer (Insects) and Dr. John A. W. Kirsch and graduate student Michelle V. Scott (Mam- mals). Australian visitors to the MCZ include the current Alexander Agassiz Visiting Professor James M. Rendel and mammalogist Dr. Alex Baynes. Former MCZ Coor- dinator of Insect Collections, Dr. John F. Lawrence, who is now Curator of Coleoptera (beetles) at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO),* returned to the MCZ for a visit this fall. Australian accents *Since the Australian government started calling de- partments ‘Australian’ instead of “Commonwealth”, CSIRO has become a logo. in the MCZ halls are becoming so common that they pass almost un- noticed. Dr. James Perran Ross, Associate in Herpetology, Donna Dobos, Museum Guide, and Joanna Gertler, new Guide recruit, are among the MCZ’s recent Aus- tralian transplants. Insect Collecting Trip As part of their study of beetle taxonomy and biology, two mem- bers of the MCZ’s Entomology De- partment, Dr. Alfred F. Newton (Curatorial Associate) and Mar- garet K. Thayer (former Curatorial Associate, now graduate student) explored little-known areas of southeast Australia, Tasmania, and Giant Australian weevil on Dr. New- ton’s hand. Photo by Margaret K. Thayer New Zealand from January to mid-April. Picking cool, damp areas, the favored habitat of the beetles of special interest to them, they not only collected numerous undescribed genera and species Margaret Thayer with trap for flying insects; the insects hit the vertical net, fly up to the peaked roof and fall into the collecting jar. Photo by Alfred F. Newton but also uncovered the life history of one genus of a poorly known subfamily of Leiodidae. They were accompanied in Tasmania by Dr. John F. Lawrence, who made the collecting vehicle and equipment from CSIRO available for this ex- pedition. Dr. Kirsch looks forward to introduc- ing Friends of the MCZ to the joys of spotting nocturnal animals on night hikes in the Tasmanian countryside. The mysterious home of Tasmanian devils and wolves looks unexpectedly tranquil. Photo by John A. W. Kirsch Marsupial Field Research The MCZ-Australian connection was strengthened considerably with last year’s appointment of marsupial specialist John A. W. Kirsch to the MCZ’s Mammal De- partment. Dr. Kirsch’s comparative studies on marsupials, which en- compass the entire southern hemi- sphere, have taken him on ex- tended field studies in South America as well as Australia and Tasmania. Dr. Kirsch’s most recent Austra- lian expedition, last April, had three objectives: to participate in the International Conference on Carnivorous Marsupials and the Annual Meeting of the Australian Mammal Society; to find a suitable project for graduate student thesis N Brushtail possum waiting to be served at Tasmanian campground. Photo by Margaret K. Thayer Michelle V. Scott; and to plan a natural history expedition for the Friends of the MCZ. After delivering a paper on the evolutionary relationships of American and Australian marsu- pial carnivores at the Conference, Dr. Kirsch and Ms. Scott traveled through Tasmania and much of eastern Australia before settling on a study of the behavioral ecology of a species of marsupial “mice” which exhibit a perplexing repro- ductive pattern. With the support and encouragement of Drs. Tony Lee of Monash University and Pat Woolley of LaTrobe University, Melbourne, Ms. Scott will use radio-tracking to follow the be- havior of the males and females in Fall Visitor Dr. James M. Rendel, Alexander Agassiz Visiting Professor, retired her study population. She will ex- amine the evolutionary reason for the male’s dramatic deterioration and death after mating by compil- ing data on the mating frequency pattern. This will be comple- mented by laboratory studies on the timing of the highly synchro- nized breeding season, which may well be under female control. Since the female is left literally holding the bag, the timing of her effort is important to her survival as well as that of her offspring. Staff Notices Marine biologist Dr. James J. McCarthy was promoted to Alex- ander Agassiz Professor of Zoology as of July 1. Dr. William L. Fink was promoted to the joint posi- tion of Associate Professor of Biol- ogy/Associate Curator of Ichthyol- ogy as of July 1. Professor emeritus Ernst Mayr has become a For- eign Member of the Academia Nazionale dei Lincei, Italy’s fore- most and oldest (1601) academy of scholars. He has also received the Mendel Medal of the Deutsche Akademie de Naturforscher Leo- poldina, Germany’s oldest and primary academy of science “in recognition of his pathfinding and deeply-probing work on evolu- tionary theory.” last May having served for 15 years as Chief of the Division of Animal Genetics at CSIRO in Sidney, Aus- tralia. His work at CSIRO was twofold: a theoretical study of de- velopmental genetics was coupled with practical application to the breeding of domestic animals. Before retiring to the English countryside, Dr. Rendel is teaching a genetics course at the MCZ this fall. The area of particular interest is the constancy of some characters, which always develop in the same way to the same end point despite the presence of genetic and en- vironmental factors tending to change the expression of the character. The phenomenon of constancy, whose genetic control is the subject of Dr. Rendel’s course, has been called “canalization.” Bernhard Kummel 1919-1980 Professor Bernhard Kummel, Curator of Invertebrate Paleontol- ogy, died on July 3 at the age of 60. Dr. Kummel received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and oc- cupied positions as Geologist for the Peruvian Government and As- sistant and Associate Professor at the University of Illinois before coming to Harvard in 1952 where he was Associate Professor of Geology until 1962. He then be- came Professor of Geology and in the following year, also assumed the Curatorship of Invertebrate Paleontology. He was President of the Paleontological Society (1970- 71) and Chairman of Harvard’s De- partment of Geological Sciences (1974-76). Dr. Kummel was elected a Patron of the Paleontological So- ciety on June 9, 1980, an honor he shared with only one other mem- ber in the Society’s 72-year-history. On September 12, Dr. Kummel’s friends and colleagues at the MCZ and beyond gathered in the Geological Lecture Hall to com- memorate his life. Raymond Siever, Chairman of Harvard’s Department of Geologi- cal Sciences talked about Dr. Kummel’s importance to the De- partment: “Bernie had an immense and intense loyalty to this University and to the De- partment .. . I just find it difficult to imagine what this Department would have been for the last 30 years without Bernie in it. Bernie was somebody everybody looked for when there were meetings of the Department, at Geolog- ical Society of America meetings, at Paleontological meetings. Bernie was Harvard to a great many people.” Norman Newell, Dr. Kummel’s professor at the University of Wis- consin, celebrated ‘‘Bernie’s un- usual zest for living. . . and unlim- ited drive. One of the things he taught me was to love to teach. . . He was my first research student . .and my attitude to him was that of a mother hen with her chick.” Dr. Newell recalled the time when he and Dr. Kummel worked in the jungles of Peru: “Bernie had become a recognized au- thority on Peruvian geology. He won the hearts of all the Peruvians . . . and he also won Gilda’s heart there and brought her back to New York in 1947. They were married in my apartment in New York. He finished his Ph.D. in one year at Columbia, which is something of a record, and Gilda and Bernie started their difficult climb up the lad- der. . . His crowning achievement. . . I think, is the way that he inspired his own students. He has passed on the spirit to them and they stand at the forefront of a new revolution in paleon- tology.” Norman Sohl, Dr. Kummel’s first graduate student, paid tribute to his generosity and vigorous sup- port and acknowledged that “‘if it weren't for Bernie Kummel, I wouldn’t know stratigraphy.’’ He also acknowledged that: “As a student, support came not from Bernie alone but also from Gilda, who took my wife in for summers as we did joint field work . . . and, of course, the numerous subsequent kindnesses have never ceased.” McLain Forman remembered that ‘‘the Kummel stamp was heavy on the student body here at Harvard in the early and mid-50’s when I was there and it resulted ina very close-knit student commu- nity.” Dr. Kummel’s great sense of humor played a large part in the intense camaraderie that devel- oped between himself and his stu- dents. “He could laugh at many things, including himself, and that is a rare quality in a man.” David Raup, another student in the early and mid-50’s, recalled: “Bernie had a marvelous blend of toughness and friendly generosity . . . his first words to most new graduate students were ‘Call me Bernie,’ which was pretty unusual at Harvard in the early 50's.” His energy was legendary: ‘Bernie was fond of claiming that there are 26 hours in the day and it was up to us to use all of them.’’ He echoed the universal sentiment in his clos- ing: “I will miss Bernie Kummel as a counselor and a very good friend.” Roger Thomas, a student from the mid-60’s, not only brought his continued on page 6 Bernhard Kummel contemplating the Permo-Triassic boundary at Kap Stosch, East Greenland, 1967. Photo by Victoria G. Kohler Transitions in Herpetology Retired: Professor Ernest E. Wil- liams retired as Curator of the De- partment of Herpetology (Reptiles and Amphibians) on June 30 after occupying the position since 1957. His retirement is only partial, how- ever, since as Professor of Biology, Dr. Williams will continue to teach a seminar on The Origin and Struc- ture of Diversity and, freed of curatorial responsibilities, will be able to focus more attention on his research. He hopes to receive sup- port from the Guggenheim Foun- dation to continue his work on the biogeography of Anolis lizards, the nearly ubiquitous lizards of the southeast United States, the West Indies, and South America. R\\ te Ernest E. Williams (1963) Photo by Gaston de Witte Under Dr. Williams’ care, the col- lections of reptiles and amphib- ians, which may be the largest and most representative in the world (the only one comparable in scope is that of the British Museum and no other collections rival it in size) have undergone major renova- tions. The entire wet collection was transferred some years ago from the original ground-glass ‘Agassiz jars’’ to tighter-sealing modern bot- tles which greatly reduce the rate of alcohol evaporation. General reor- ganization supported by the Na- tional Science Foundation includ- ing two new rooms, new paint, new lighting, new cabinets, and new work counters modernized the basement collections area to meet the demands of students and visiting researchers. The collec- tions have also grown considerably under Dr. Williams’ curatorship. Among the most complete is the collection of Anolis, on which Dr. Williams has concentrated his at- tention, and which includes over 25,000 specimens representing 90% of the 200 or so known species. These collections were as- sembled by former MCZ Director Thomas Barbour, Dr. Williams, and their students. Turtles were Dr. Williams’ first research animals but he switched to Anolis in 1957 because, as he ex- plains: ‘Turtles don’t compress and are therefore not very packable. As a curator, this is a consideration. If you are studying populations, you need a convenient species.” Anolis have proven to fit all the require- ments: they are plentiful, easily seen in the open (rather than being secretive), and diurnal. They can be studied in their natural habitat and kept alive in terraria for labora- tory studies. The original general studies in the West Indies have now progressed to the consideration of genetic differentiation among closely-related species, hybrid zones, and subtle population dif- ferences while the more recent work in South America is still at the stage of alpha taxonomy, i.e. species identification. That many species of this useful research ani- mal live in the climatically hospita- ble West Indies where they are usu- ally abundant, only enhances their obvious advantages. The South American work, with colleagues Stephen Ayala in Colombia, Dr. Paulo Vanzolini in Brazil, and former student Dr. Kenneth I. Miyata in Ecuador presents more challenges: the lizards in South America are at least scarce (relative to the West Indies) and often rare, but the work is proceeding never- theless. Students have always been at- tracted to Dr. Williams’ intellectual leadership and that many of them now occupy teaching and research positions in major institutions is a source of great satisfaction to their former professor. They include: A. Stanley Rand (Smithsonian Tropi- cal Research Institute), Carl Gans (University of Michigan), Thomas W. Schoener (University of Wash- ington), Robert L. Trivers (Univer- sity of California, Santa Cruz), Allen E. Greer (Australian Mu- seum, Sidney), T. Preston Webster (who had just joined the faculty of the University of Montana when he was killed in a car accident in 1976), A. Ross Kiester (University of Chicago), Raymond B. Huey (Uni- versity of Washington), Timothy C. Moermond (University of Wiscon- sin), Paul E. Hertz (Barnard Col- lege), and Robert D. Holt (Univer- sity of Kansas). Pere Alberch Appointed: Pere Alberch was ap- pointed Assistant Professor of Biology/Assistant Curator of Rep- tiles and Amphibians as of July 1. A native of Barcelona, Spain (Cata- lan), Dr. Alberch emigrated to the United States to attend the Univer- sities of Kansas and California (Berkeley). He plans an active re- search and teaching schedule as well as continuing to modernize the herpetological collections. In his research Dr. Alberch is at- tempting to answer fundamental questions posed by developmental biology and evolutionary theory. He is especially interested in dis- covering the origins of morpholog- ical diversity. Among his current research sub- jects are a group of tree-dwelling salamanders inhabiting the tropical lowlands of Central and South America. A series of morphological changes (such as _ fully-webbed hands and feet and fusion of tarsal bones) are associated with the in- vasion of this most unusual habitat for salamanders. By tracing the de- velopment of the foot at the cellular level, Dr. Alberch is attempting to understand the mechanisms that have generated these new struc- tures and their evolutionary sig- nificance. Dr. Alberch hypothesizes that a wide variety of morphological novelties in evolution are the result of small regulatory changes in tim- ing of gene action, and rates of growth and morphogenesis dur- ing embryonic development. For example, he studies a group of salamanders that have arrested de- velopment. These salamanders ma- ture early with respect to their an- cestors and remain in a juvenile state for the duration of their lives. These ‘juvenile’ salamanders ex- hibit a dramatically different mor- phology, having a wide variety of embryonic features, such as webbed feet, incomplete sutures in the bones of the skull, reduced dig- its, and the loss of skull bones. All these features are the product of a single alteration in their embryonic development. Salamanders are particularly suitable for this study because they have a system that is easy to ma- nipulate at the embryonic level. They are the most primitive tet- rapods, having changed little throughout their fossil record. They provide a good model of the organization of the organisms in- volved in the water-to-land trans- ition. Other areas of investigation in- clude problems of epithelial mor- phogenesis, such as the change from scales to feathers, and mecha- nisms of limb morphogenesis and how they relate to the transition from fins to limbs, a key mac- roevolutionary phenomenon. By examining the developmental mechanisms at the cellular level and looking at the tissue interac- tions, Dr. Alberch hopes to shed light on the basic evolutionary pro- cess. His aim is not simply to de- scribe the process but to under- stand the method by which small changes in some of the devel- opmental parameters can result in major evolutionary transforma- tions. Dr. Alberch will teach two courses in alternate years; Biology of Reptiles and Amphibians and Com- parative and Evolutionary Embryol- ogy. He is also participating in the graduate seminar, Selected Topics in Evolutionary Theory, with Pro- fessors Richard Lewontin and Stephen Jay Gould. In assuming his _ curatorial duties, Dr. Alberch recognizes the importance of insuring the accessi- bility of the collections; he plans to submit a proposal for their con- tinued maintenance and improval to the National Science Founda- tion. Long-range plans include computerizing the collections. Died: Arthur A. Loveridge, Cura- tor of Reptiles and Amphibians from September, 1935 until Au- gust, 1957, died on the Island of St. Helena on February 16, 1980. Born and educated in Great Britain, Mr. Loveridge was the Curator of the Nairobi Museum before arriving at the MCZ in 1927. He held the positions of Assistant and Associate Curator before being ap- pointed Curator in 1935. He re- turned to Africa on collecting ex- peditions five times during his tenure in Cambridge. Upon his retirement in 1957, Di- rector Alfred S. Romer noted: “‘He is an outstanding authority on Afri- can reptiles and amphibians and in addition to numerous scientific monographs has published several delightful books describing his ad- ventures in the field.” The first of these books, entitled Many Happy Days I Have Squandered, reveals the young Loveridge’s total absorption with the collecting, pre- serving, cataloging, and storing of every animal specimen he could capture with no concern for the ob- stacles involved. He was clearly destined for museum curatorship; as he notes: “ “Natural History Pursuits,’ I was told, ‘are all very wellasa pastime, but not to be considered seriously as a remunera- tive occupation.’ This was disconcert- ing news for a boy who had thought for little else but beasts and birds, and who, at the age of ten, had decided to become a Museum Curator. He placed halos about the heads of humble keep- ers in zoological gardens, and from Public Galleries watched with envy those happy mortals who _ passed through doors marked ‘Private,’ speculating on the nature of the trea- sures which they were privileged to handle all the day long.” Beginning with birds’ eggs and snakes, Loveridge records how one morning: “T overtook another boy on the way to continued on page 6 Re nt ate ee eee ng Arthur A. Loveridge, in 1911 at age 19, with a live nine-foot python (Python molurus) on his lap and a radiated tortoise (Geochelone radiata) ‘‘as large as a bowler hat” at his feet. From a photo album of his early personal collections. Bernhard Kummel continued from page 3 personal tribute but also officially represented the Paleontological Society on the occasion. Dr. Thomas remembered that: “Outside Bernie’s office was a sign, ‘This is the Scythian country.’ He chose to work a difficult terrain, the lower Triassic with its limited and intractable fauna, the desolate lands of East Green- land, some of the less-traveled parts of the western interior of East Greenland . . . the western interior of the United States, and the arid mountains of An- cient Scythia itself.” Curt Teichert, whose “intimate association in joint research” with Dr. Kummel began in 1952 and ‘which was to last until death in- tervened” described the genesis of their major joint work: “During the 1950’s there had been an increasing volume of discussion and publications on the nature and mean- ings of the great extinction of life forms which had taken place at the end of the Paleozoic and again at the end of the Mesozoic era. Most basic facts had long been known and discussions in the 1950’s were based mostly on what at that time was in the existing literature. Bernie and I decided that a better way to tackle the problem of the Peruvian extinctions and the Peruvian Triassic evolutionary break was to go out in the field and study critical sections in which this break was documented by fossil faunas. At that time there were only four places known in the world where the possibility of continuous marine sedimentation from Permian into Triassic time existed. These were East Greenland, Soviet Armenia, Kashmir, and southern China. Again, it was Bernie who coaxed and urged by saying: ‘Let the others theorize, but somebody has to go out and do the dirty work to get at the facts.’ So in 1967 we went to northeast Greenland and in 1968 to Kashmir and then to northwest- ern Iran where we could study the Permian-Triassic transition .. .” ‘ Dr. Teichert summarized his many exemplary traits and concluded: “Bernie was a scientist par excellence. He was a seeker of truth to whom nothing else mattered. He was anything but doctrinaire. He had no pet theories to peddle. He was always ready to listen and to argue and to compromise but he would never compromise his methods and his goals.” Stephen Jay Gould who has lived side-by-side with Dr. Kummel in the MCZ for the last 13 years, stated that: “Bernie Kummel was the most complex man I have ever met. There were moments when I hated him and there were long, long periods when I loved him; I always admired him. He was a man without prentensions, a man who hated cant and polite discretions so deeply that I can’t read his eulogy in the conventional mode De mortuis nil nisi bonum. We must mention his faults as well as his strengths and so doing I think we understand that each fault was overbalanced by an immeasurably greater and complementary strength, so that Bernie emerges far richer as an exemplary human being, not as a cardboard hero.” In his analysis of Bernie Kummel, the human being, Dr. Gould con- cluded: “He was not an articulate man, yet he had more to say than all the polished literati of his field. In his chosen profes- sion he had no superiors in knowledge and judgment and, above all, in dedica- tion. He was the finest classical paleon- tologist of his generation.” But he also said that: “Sometimes he closed his own mind to newer trends in his field, yet he sup- ported unflinchingly the decisions of his students to pursue them. He en- couraged diversity when he could have built an empire to further his own pref- erences. I stand here now because he lived by that unselfish ideal . . . His loyalty and interest, once gained, were everlasting. He was a man with friends and admirers throughout the world.” Cornelius Hurlbut, Harvard mineralogist, concluded the reflec- tions by explaining that while they were not professional colleagues, he shared with Dr. Kummel a close friendship, particularly in the later years. He noted that: “Bernie Kummel will never be forgot- ten, for he has left behind such a wealth of scholarly work on which others can build.” Arthur A. Loveridge continued from page 5 school and announced that I was about to start a natural history collection. (The reason for this portentous deci- sion was a stuffed flying fish received that very morning from my eldest brother now in Panama. It had come aboard his ship and he had preserved it and stuffed it for me.) The scorn with which my statement was received so impressed me that I have always re- membered the very spot on which it was uttered. From the ripe experience of eleven years Master Green cynically told nine-year-old that it would be but a passing phase. ‘I’ve known lots of fel- lows who started collections but they soon give up,’ he said. ‘But I shan’t,’ I retorted with some heat. My indigna- tion lasted throughout morning school, and until I returned home to my flying fish—and lunch.” When Loveridge was in_ his teens, a family move and rather compelling circumstances pro- vided him with his first separate museum building. “Until we moved to Llandaff my natural history collections, such as they were, had been arranged on the shelves of a cupboard in my bedroom. Shortly after their installation in our new home, however, an appalling odor was traced to the cupboard where it was found that the egg of a tortoise, which I had dug up in our garden two years before, had exploded on maturing to ripe old age. The incident provided me with a weighty argument in support of my plea to be given the sole proprietor- ship of a small conservatory-like house at the foot of the garden.” It was Loveridge’s stamp collec- tion which became his passport to East Africa and the beginning of his lifelong work on African fauna. “T heard of a civil engineer in govern- ment service in what was then called British East Africa, who not only col- lected stamps and birds’ eggs but had in his youth shown a fondness for snakes. Here was a potential ally to help supply the ever-growing collection, now numbering nearly 500 jars of preserved reptiles and over 300 glass-topped drawers containing birds’ eggs, in- sects, and other specimens.” Stamps were traded for a prom- ised shipment of pickled African snakes but upon his return to Af- rica, the reluctant civil engineer found that the Committee of the East Africa and Uganda Natural History Society were looking for a curator for their museum and sug- gested to Loveridge that he apply for the position “’. . . and then you can catch your own bally snakes.” Loveridge’s books, available in the MCZ Library, are highly rec- ommended as an entertaining in- troduction to this type specimen of a museum curator. Library Reorganizes Journals When the total reorganization of the MCZ Library’s journals is com- pleted in January, users will be able to locate any one of the 10,000 jour- nals in the collection (1,600 on the current subscription list) simply by looking up the title or the name of the issuing institution. While this may not seem to be an unusually noteworthy news item, it repre- sents a decisive step forward into twentieth-century library practices for this venerable collection. The original system of arrange- ment, by city of publication, worked well for Louis Agassiz when the library carried 50 jour- nals. Subsequent efforts to classify the growing number of holdings resulted in a variety of systems re- flecting the different approaches to serial organization over the past 90 years. The resulting inadequacies and inconsistencies have been a re- current source of frustration to staff and users alike. In 1978, Librarian Eva Jonas as- sessed the alternatives and decided that the Harvard Library’s CON- SER system of cooperative catalog- ing, which currently unites 15 uni- You can now look up most of the MCZ’s journals on a microfiche shelflist, thanks to the work of William A. Bourque. versity research libraries, would best meet the long-term needs of the collection. She decided to make a commitment to the Harvard cen- tralized computer project and the University Library Office for Sys- tems Planning and_ Research agreed to provide the needed pro- gramming support. William A. Bourque, a specialist in the application of computer technology to serials organization in university research libraries, was appointed in November 1978 to manage the reorganization. With the successful completion of the project, he will now move to the Cabot Science Library and assume the position of Head of Technical Services. The decision to join Harvard's computerized system for new books and serials will eventually integrate the MCZ collection into the University library catalog. ‘“We are ahead of the game now; we can participate in all-University proj- ects to make the life of library users at Harvard easier,”’ notes satisfied Librarian Jonas. Ss YL, Ee No Nae, Reed Boland Appointed As part of the renewed security efforts to adequately protect the MCZ Library’s precious collection of rare books, Reed Boland has been appointed for one year to conduct a thorough inventory. Mr. Boland, who received a Ph.D. in English Literature from Harvard in 1977 and then worked in the Houghton Rare Book Library, will search through the entire MCZ col- lection to assure that all valuable books are moved to the secure rare books area. Part of his mission is to find out ; exactly what is missing as a result of last year’s much-publicized losses. As the inventory proceeds he will compile supplements to the origi- nal missing list. The supplements will be published to help in the investigation to locate these irre- placeable rare books. The MCZ Newsletter is published three times a year by the Museum of Compara- tive Zoology, Harvard University, Ox- ford Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138; A. W. Crompton, Director. Editor: Gabrielle Dundon Photographers: A.H. Coleman Paula Chandoha Public Programs Museum Guides Karen Duffy has left the Cam- bridge area for the sunnier climes and new challenges of the South- west. During her three years as Coordinator, the Museum Guide program (which provides trained volunteer guides to conduct pro- grams for visiting school groups) flourished, in great part due to her patient nurturing and calm leader- ship. Although the program's financial profile was not as en- couraging last year as in the previ- ous two, a trend which was experi- enced by many local institutions working with public school groups, she leaves a_highly- respected and well-organized pro- gram with a good prognosis for continued growth. Dale Seecof has been appointed the new Coordinator this fall. She is no newcomer to the program having served as a guide specializ- ing in the Native American area of the Peabody Museum for the last two years. Ms. Seecof not only brings ex- perience in federal fundraising to her position but has also completed all but the dissertation for a Ph.D. in Near Eastern Archeology from Brandeis University. With Kaki Al- ~~ : Dale Seecof, new Museum Guide Coordinator drich, whose background is strong in natural history and geology, con- tinuing as the training consultant, the strengths of the staff are well- balanced to cover the academic con- tent of the Harvard University Mu- seum, including the Peabody, the Geological and Mineralogical Mu- seums, and the MCZ. (At present, the Guide Program does not pro- vide programs on the Botanical Museums glass flowers.) With the demand for programs increasing, and the supply of guides to conduct them undergo- ing natural fluctuations, this fall’s first priority has been the training of new guides. More than 30 re- cruits are currently attending a six-week training session. Video Award Kaki Aldrich: A Teacher and her Methods, produced by Rob Morris for the Public Programs Depart- ment, won the award for best entry in the “Staff Training’ category of the New England Museums Association first annual Video Awards this September. Used as an introduction of her education- al philosophy for new Museum Guide trainees, this 20-minute videotape is now available to other institutions and educators. For in- formation, write or call the Public Programs office at 617-495-2463. An elk’s pelvis can have more than one use, as a student demonstrates here to Education Coordinator Elizabeth Cori-Jones. The next session of afterschool chil- dren’s programs will be starting soon. Call 495-1771 or 495-2463 to sign up. A. W. Crompton to Address University Museums Conference At the conference entitled Uni- versity Museums: Assets or Liabilities to be held December 9-12 in Philadelphia, Director A. W. Crompton will present his views on ‘Who Pays the Bills” for a pri- vate university museum. Spon- Photo by Emily Hubbs Scott sored by the Institute of Museum Services, the conference will exam- ine the important research and teaching function of the university museum as well as its responsibil- ity to the larger community. Har- vard’s Dean Richard G. Leahy will also be on the program as a panelist in a discussion summarizing the principal problems and potential solutions for university museums.