It is with great sadness that I share with the campus community that the Illinois at the Phillips Collection program will be shut down. This program allowed undergraduate and graduate students in multiple disciplines to live in Washington D.C., intern at the museum, and take classes with UIUC faculty, visiting lecturers and artists.

As a member of the inaugural group at the Illinois at the Phillips in 2006, I am incredibly disappointed that this program will be cut. I can say with certainty that this was one of the most formative experiences in my undergraduate academic career and led me to apply to law school, which I will be attending next fall. Without this program, I would not have made incredible contacts among different museum professionals in D.C., participated in the exciting process of developing a new art exhibition, or had the opportunity to meet the amazing people working at the Phillips Collection program.

It is extremely unfortunate that one of the first major casualties of our budget crisis on campus happens to be a program in the arts. This program, only three years old, did not have the opportunity to grow, develop, and sustain itself. It was quickly decided that the University simply could not rearrange the current funding situation to keep the program, despite the importance of the U of I at the Phillips for many students in the arts on campus.

While the arts are typically the first to be cut in times of budgetary constraints, I had hoped that the review committee would see the importance of this unique opportunity for students interested in art history and museum studies. I am just grateful I was able to take part in such an amazing program and regret that following the Spring 2010 semester, other students will not be able to share that experience.

Melissa Bushnick,

graduate student