COMMITTEE BACKS BRANDEIS OFFICIALS ON ROSE ART MUSEUM

The Boston Globe_ reports that a Brandeis committee has issued a vote of confidence for the beleaguered administration and made no push to save director Michael Rush’s job, according to an interim report released on Friday. The Future of the Rose Committee, formed in March, is charged with examining Brandeis University’s controversial decision to change the Rose Art Museum’s mission and sell some of its art. The committee, which was formed in response to widespread criticism of the university’s plan to turn the museum into a student-based arts center and sell art to make up for budget deficits, praised the administration in the six-page report and expressed hope that Brandeis has “stepped back from the precipice.”

But Rose supporters have disparaged the committee, which is led by philosophy professor Jerry Samet. They say the administration refused to install as members people recommended by Rush and Jonathan Lee, chairman of the museum’s board of overseers. “It reminds me of something like a Stalinesque show committee,” said Lee, chairman of the Rose’s board of directors. “These are all hand-picked people by the administration. We didn’t get to pick who represents us.”

In the report, the committee said the university’s board of trustees will decide whether to sell the art. “We assume that whatever decisions the board makes regarding such sales, there will remain a substantial collection of art to be preserved and made available for research, study, and cultivation,” the report states. Over the next few months, the committee will get input from faculty, students, Rose supporters, Brandeis trustees, and outside specialists before issuing a final report in the fall.