By Gaille Pike
Special to The Hays Daily News
Fort Hays State University is pivoting from its announced plan to close the Sternberg Museum of Natural History’s public operations, President Tisa Mason said in an exclusive interview Monday afternoon.
Although the university still faces a serious budget crisis, Mason said the community’s response has created new possibilities for keeping the museum open in some form and developing a more sustainable long-term model.
The university previously announced that the museum’s public operations would close Dec. 18. Mason said FHSU needs approximately $1 million for fiscal year 2027 as a short-term solution. University officials will then determine whether Sternberg could reopen for the spring semester — full time, part time or under another operating arrangement.
“Because this is a financial decision, if we can bring finances to the table to solve it, great,” Mason said. “It’s a win-win. We can keep it open. It’s not about closing. It’s about affordability.”
Mason said museum staff, the university’s provost and dean are beginning work on a long-term revisioning process. That review could include changes to operating and staffing patterns. She also plans to work with community partners on broader funding and support options.
The shift follows an intense public reaction to the closure announcement. Mason said the university is now receiving ideas; partnership offers and financial support that were not available during her earlier efforts to find outside assistance for Sternberg.
FHSU has attributed the decision to a $2.4 million recurring budget shortfall. Mason said the university has already cut more than $1 million elsewhere and must protect its core academic mission. However, she emphasized that Sternberg’s future is not settled and that new opportunities are expanding rather than contracting.
“We’re listening, and we’re pivoting, and we’re getting support that we couldn’t get before,” Mason said.
Community members can help by contacting legislators, visiting Sternberg, buying museum memberships, offering ideas and supporting potential partnerships, Mason said. The university is organizing an internal effort with museum staff while also bringing external partners into discussions about what Mason called “Sternberg 2.0.”
No final operating plan has been determined, and substantial financial and organizational work remains. But Mason said the university wants Sternberg to have a future if a workable model can be built.
“Hopefully we can keep hope alive,” she said. “That’s what I want to do, because that’s the truth of it.”
Additional forthcoming articles from our exclusive interview will examine Sternberg’s finances, deferred maintenance, museum collections, decision-making processes and Mason’s answers to continuing community questions.
Mason is scheduled to present an FHSU update to the Ellis County Commission at tomorrow’s meeting, 8:30 a.m. Oct. 6. In the Ellis County Administrative Center Commission Room.
