Fort Hays State University (FHSU) says the Sternberg Museum of Natural History remains set to close to the public Dec. 18 unless its fundraising campaign succeeds, while museum employees assess collections and the university explores possible alternatives.
That closure date has not been reversed.
“The museum is still set to close to the public on December 18, 2026, pending success of the fundraising campaign,” Eric Grospitch, FHSU senior advisor for executive operations, said in an Oct. 22 email. “If this changes, communication will be shared.”
Grospitch’s response is consistent with President Tisa Mason’s message that the closure remains in place while FHSU seeks enough private support to preserve operations, although questions remain about how the closure date, campaign deadline and university’s longer-term planning fit together.
Mason initially described the museum’s most recent annual subsidy as approximately $855,000. FHSU later raised the campaign target to $1 million, explaining that inflation and anticipated salary increases required a larger amount. The Hays Daily News previously reported that, following Mason’s Oct. 6 direction, the FHSU Foundation campaign was required to raise $1 million by Dec. 31 to keep the museum open another year.
The timeline raises a question: Sternberg remains scheduled to close Dec. 18, but the fundraising deadline extends 13 days beyond the closure date. FHSU has not publicly explained in detail how reaching the goal between Dec. 19 and Dec. 31 would affect operations after the museum closes to visitors.
Mason has also discussed a possible “Sternberg 2.0,” describing a future or redesigned version of the museum and suggesting decisions or work on that next phase could extend into the spring. The Hays Daily News previously reported on Mason’s financial reasoning, search for solutions and discussion of a possible Sternberg 2.0.
Together, those messages present both a firm near-term date and a less-defined longer-term process: public operations remain scheduled to end Dec. 18, fundraising continues through Dec. 31, and planning for Sternberg’s future could continue next spring. It remains unclear what would happen Dec. 18 if fundraising commitments were promising but incomplete, what threshold would stop the closure, and whether Sternberg 2.0 would preserve the current operation or create a substantially different model.
Grospitch also said employees have not been directed to prepare to relocate the museum collections by July 1, 2027.
Sources present at Mason’s Sept. 21 meeting with museum employees, however, said Mason told staff to begin assessing everything the museum holds so they could prepare for specimens to be moved if necessary.
Sources also described a later private meeting with Provost Jill Arensdorf, whose date has not been confirmed. They said employees were told to develop a reliable catalog of the holdings because, although the Foundation campaign could produce several outcomes, public operations remained set to end Dec. 18.
According to those sources, employees need to determine the staff hours and other requirements involved in preparing and—if necessary—moving some or all collections elsewhere on campus or to another facility.
Those accounts do not establish that FHSU has ordered a relocation. Rather, they indicate employees are developing information that would be needed if a move becomes necessary, consistent with Grospitch’s direct “No” when asked whether staff had been told to prepare for relocation by July 1.
Museum sources emphasized that cataloging is routine, continuing work at natural-history institutions and must be performed by specialists in the relevant disciplines. They said each Sternberg collection is unique and at a different stage of documentation.
Some collections are nearly fully cataloged apart from recently acquired specimens, sources said, while considerable work remains to create databases and digitize others. The sources cited the Entomology collection as an example, estimating that it contains approximately 100,000 insect specimens representing nearly all North American families, of which about 1,000 have been entered into a database and digitized.
The assessment and cataloging work is also where an unresolved offer of outside scientific assistance could be relevant.
The Hays Daily News reported Oct. 14 that the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology’s executive leadership offered in an Oct. 9 letter to help FHSU find a path forward for Sternberg. The international society represents approximately 2,000 researchers, educators, students and paleontology enthusiasts.
SVP President Stuart Sumida said qualified society members—including FHSU alumni—and federal-agency partners were prepared to provide expertise focused on a legal, ethical and preservation-centered strategy for Sternberg. The society also urged FHSU to protect the integrity of the museum’s collections and abandon any consideration of working with commercial fossil dealers.
That offer could provide specialized knowledge relevant to evaluating, cataloging, preserving or potentially relocating paleontological specimens. However, the breadth of Sternberg’s holdings means vertebrate-paleontology expertise would address only part of the museum’s overall collections. Museum sources said experts in each respective field are needed to assess the different collections.
At the time of the Hays Daily News report, Mason had not responded directly to SVP’s offer. Another FHSU administrator had sent a brief acknowledgment thanking the society for the information in its letter. To date, FHSU has provided no additional response beyond what the Hays Daily News previously reported.
Assessing uncataloged holdings could therefore be ordinary collections management, contingency planning prompted by the announced closure, or both. The available information does not establish that specimens have been ordered moved, where they would go or whether a transfer ultimately will occur. It also remains unclear whether FHSU will accept SVP’s offer of assistance as it assesses the collections and considers Sternberg’s future.
Meanwhile, the Kansas Board of Regents has not acted to approve or disapprove a Sternberg closure, KBOR Communications Director Matt Keith said in an Oct. 21 email.
“The Board has not taken any action to approve or not approve closure of the Sternberg Museum,” Keith wrote.
A document KBOR provided as responsive to a Hays Daily News Kansas Open Records Act request also shows possible state-level interest in using STAR Bonds in connection with Sternberg.
In the Oct. 18 email, Mason wrote that KBOR President and CEO Jennifer Bonds-Raacke had encountered Lt. Gov. and Commerce Secretary David Toland at an event and that Toland wanted to speak with someone at FHSU “about the Star Bonds/Sternberg.” Mason asked that a call be scheduled that week.
The document does not disclose whether the call occurred or identify any proposal, commitment or funding amount. Neither Toland nor FHSU responded to an opportunity to comment.
The reference is notable because FHSU’s original closure announcement said STAR Bonds had been explored but had not proved viable, while leaving open the possibility of future solutions. The newly disclosed message indicates renewed interest in a conversation—not that a STAR Bonds plan has been developed or approved.
The unanswered questions are expected to receive legislative scrutiny Oct. 26.
The Hays Daily News reported Oct. 21 that Mason had been requested to testify before the Kansas Legislature’s joint Legislative Budget Committee concerning Sternberg. The newspaper reported Oct. 22 that the committee’s tentative agenda allotted 90 minutes, beginning at 1 p.m., for the Sternberg discussion and Mason’s testimony in Room 548-S at the Statehouse. The meeting is scheduled to be livestreamed on the Kansas Legislature’s YouTube channel.
Records KBOR provided in response to a Hays Daily News KORA request show legislative staff began seeking detailed Sternberg financial information Oct. 12. Kansas Legislative Research Department Senior Fiscal Analyst Luke Drury told KBOR officials that he could not find the museum’s actual or estimated expenditures in state budget narratives or KanView. KBOR Vice President for Finance and Administration Elaine Frisbie forwarded the request to FHSU, saying the detail sought likely would have to come from the university’s enterprise accounting system.
Those records show the committee’s inquiry extends beyond whether the museum will close. Legislators are preparing to examine FHSU’s financial explanation, fundraising effort and plans for Sternberg’s future. The Oct. 12 request does not allege mismanagement or wrongdoing; it shows legislative staff are seeking more detailed information than summary-level subsidy figures before Mason’s testimony.
For now, the clearest confirmed development remains unchanged: Sternberg is still scheduled to close to visitors Dec. 18.
Hays Daily News reporting has shown that fundraising, revisioning discussions, expert offers, contingency planning and preparation for legislative review can proceed simultaneously. Those developments do not necessarily conflict. But FHSU has not fully explained how the Dec. 18 closure, Dec. 31 campaign deadline, possible spring planning, collections assessment, outside offers of assistance and the issues expected to be examined during Mason’s Oct. 26 testimony will work together in determining Sternberg’s future.
According to the tentative agenda for the Oct. 26 Legislative Budget Committee, 90 minutes, beginning at 1 p.m., have been allotted to discuss the Sternberg Museum of Natural History, with testimony by Fort Hays State University (FHSU) President Tisa Mason. The meeting will take place in Room 548-S at the Capitol and will be livestreamed on the Kansas Legislature’s YouTube channel.
Visit https://www.kslegislature.gov/b2025_26/committees/ctte_leg_budget_1/ for the full agenda of the Legislative Budget Committee’s Oct. 26 meeting.
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