CAA News Today

She Collected Art Worth Millions. Now, She’s Giving the Coveted Collection to Howard University.

Patricia Walters is donating 152 pieces to Howard University to honor her husband, the late political scientist Ronald W. Walters. (Washington Post)

The Aftermath of a Fire at the Museum of Chinese in America’s Archives

Staff are hopeful after the first recovery effort found 150 boxes in a salvageable state. (Atlas Obscura)

Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Awards $2.5 Million to Five Universities

The announcement marks an expansion of the foundation’s Frankenthaler Scholarships program, a multiyear initiative that has already dedicated more than $4 million to advance the academic careers of art and art history students. (Artforum)

Art School’s Merger With Christian University Stokes Uproar

The union of Watkins College of Art and Belmont University in Nashville has prompted concern for the future of non-Christian faculty members and LGBTQ students on campus. (New York Times)

85,000 Pieces From Beloved Chinatown Museum Likely Destroyed in Fire

Our thoughts are with the staff and supporters of the Museum of Chinese in America after a devastating fire destroyed much of their collection last week. Donate to the recovery fund here. (New York Times)

German Museum Experiments With Novel Approach to Charging Its Visitors

The Weserburg Museum of Modern Art recently tried an experimental approach in museum admission pricing – €1 for every 10 minutes. (MuseumNext)

Images of 100,000 Artworks From Paris Museum Collections Now Freely Available to the Public

Paris Musées is offering digital downloads of artworks by Rembrandt, Gustave Courbet, Eugène Delacroix, and many others. (Hyperallergic)

Yale Art History Department to Scrap Survey Course

“Introduction to Art History: Renaissance to the Present” was once touted as one of Yale College’s quintessential classes. This spring, the final rendition of the course will question the idea of Western art itself. (Yale News)

Museum Tour Toolkit: Developing an Inclusive Tour

A free resource from the Minneapolis Institute of Art, this toolkit for developing an inclusive museum tour was compiled through discussions with more than 150 docents and guides over a two-year period. (MIA)

History Shows What’s Wrong With the Idea That War Is ‘Normal’ in the Middle East

“This trope is frequently turned to by those who would have the world believe that war in the Middle East is somehow innate and inevitable.” (Time)

Germany Opens an Official ‘Help Desk’ for Those Seeking to Reclaim Nazi-Looted Art, Simplifying a Long-Opaque Process

The office in Berlin, led by art historian Susanne Meyer-Abich, aims to guide people around the bureaucratic hurdles for claiming back their cultural assets. (artnet News)

Philadelphia Mayor: Museum Should ‘Strengthen’ Sexual Harassment Policy

The mayor’s remarks come after former Philadelphia Museum of Art employee Joshua Helmer was forced to resign from his Erie Art Museum post. (New York Times)

A University’s Betrayal of Historical Truth

To settle a lawsuit over toppled Confederate monument Silent Sam, the University of North Carolina agreed to pay the Sons of Confederate Veterans $2.5 million—a sum that rivals the endowment of its history department. (Vanity Fair)

Rebecca Salter Appointed First Female President of London’s Royal Academy of Arts

The painter and printmaker will be the Royal Academy of Arts’ first female president in its 251-year history. (Artforum)

Students in Indian Capital Protest ‘Anti-Muslim’ Citizenship Law

Last week, thousands of students gathered at Jamia Millia Islamia university in New Delhi to protest. (Al Jazeera)

How a Denial of Tenure at Harvard Became a National Controversy

The tenure denial of professor Lorgia García Peña at Harvard has sparked a national conversation on the lack of legitimacy given to ethnic studies. (Vox)

Related: My mentor was denied tenure. Why should I stay in academia? (Boston Globe)

At Women’s Colleges, Rules Vary Widely for Trans and Nonbinary Students

Admissions criteria can vary widely from institution to institution and is not always publicly posted, leaving students floundering for answers. (Education Dive)

How to Feel like You Have Enough: Overcoming a Scarcity Mindset 

“Time, money, status, security, respect. You name it, we’ve felt scarce around it. As artists, we are constantly having to advocate for our value—at work, in galleries, within academia, and in society at large.” (The Creative Independent)

Harvard’s Only Latina Professor on the Tenure Track Was Rejected & Students Are Protesting

Students held a sit-in to protest the tenure denial of professor Lorgia García Peña and called for the creation of an ethnic studies department. (Remezcla)

Black Scholars Are Not ‘Rare Creatures’

“When Purdue’s president said this, I had to respond because this myth is so pervasive.” (New York Times)