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Created on Thursday, 03 November 2005 07:28
by HEATHER SANDERS
News Reporter
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David Mulvaney | The Appalachian
Some classic southern musical instruments and attire are one among many exhibits at the Appalachian cultural museum.
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The Appalachian Cultural Museum will soon have to move out of its current University Hall location and find a new home.
The museum, located on University Hall Drive in Boone, will move to
create more room for the Institute for Health and Human Services, which
includes the communication disorders clinic located in Edwin Duncan
Hall, said Dr. Lorin A. Baumhover, Chancellor Kenneth E. Peacock’s
chief of staff.
“We have to have a place where we can focus our health initiatives,” Baumhover said.
Mary Ruth Sizer, coordinator for the clinic, said communication
disorders has been located in
Edwin Duncan since it was founded in
1968.
Sizer said the program has grown, but the space it is in has not.
“We’re pretty desperate and have been for about 30 years,” Sizer said.
Sizer said because of limited handicap accessibility, it is hard for patients to come in.
The clinic may also lose its accreditation with the American Speech, Hearing and Language Association due to inadequate space.
“It’s been a frustrating process,” Sizer said. “The move can’t come quick enough.”
Baumhover said a new building for the museum must be found soon.
Renovations of University Hall will take six to eight months, and the
goal for the department to be moved in and operational is next fall.
Dr. Charles A. Watkins, director of the museum, is chairing a committee
to find a new building for the museum. Members of the committee so far
include Joe Furman, the Watauga County planning director, and John
Cooper, the owner of Mast General Store, according to The Watauga
Democrat.
Watkins said the museum has no problem with moving to a new location because they wanted more space for new exhibits.
However, the committee is facing the problem of finding a location,
especially since the university does not have the funds to rent or
lease a new building, Baumhover said.
Baumhover said the university hopes to receive financial help from the city, county or other benefactors.
The university also does not have the money to develop the six acres of
land adjacent to University Hall that were donated by alumni Jack and
Jean Elledge, Baumhover said.
The museum has been open since 1989 and is in every international
guidebook, Watkins said.
It was also recently featured in The New York
Times.
Watkins said the Appalachian region is often associated with poverty
and other negative stereotypes, the museum works to create a correct,
positive message.
“We’re working hard to make sure the general public gets a real interpretation of the region,” Watkins said.
