On May 1st, 2026, Ursinus announced the latest in a series of major operational shifts, this time affecting a long-beloved fixture of the community.
The Berman Museum, Ursinus’s own visual arts museum first opened to the public in 1989, will no longer be supported by the college’s general operating budget. Instead, the museum will be operated based on existing gift funds “within its means,” according to the campus-wide email sent by President Gundolf Graml. While Graml’s email promised that “art is, and will remain, an essential part of life on our campus,” the announcement was met with dismay and confusion by students associated with the Berman and Art Department at large.
On April 21st, according to students associated with the Berman, the museum’s Executive Director Lauren McCardel sent out an email notifying the students of a meeting scheduled for April 28th.
At the April 28th meeting some of the major shifts were revealed. According to Hayden James ‘27, an Art and Art History major with a double minor in Museum Studies and Creative Writing, the first major changes announced
involved the employment status of those working at the Berman. “[Lauren] McCardel opened by sharing that there would be staffing changes due to the institution’s plan to pivot on the role the museum holds on campus,” James stated. “They [museum staff] then went down the line [announcing their departure]…the room was very emotional and full of tears as we listened to [those] who have shaped our college careers announce such a drastic change.”
In an email to The Grizzly, Provost Kelly Sorensen addressed the question of staffing changes by writing, “Operationally, we are still working through what this shift will look like in terms of staffing. Those decisions haven’t been finalized yet, so we’re not in a position to share specific details at this time. What I can tell you is that the museum will continue to operate with a director in place.”
In President Graml’s campus-wide email, he directly cited Ursinus’s need to reduce its operation budget by $10 million by Fiscal Year 2027 as the cause behind the shifts. Despite this, President Graml assured that arts would remain intact at Ursinus. “While this [change with the Berman] represents a significant shift, it does not diminish our belief in the importance of the arts at Ursinus,” President Graml wrote. “We will continue to prioritize opportunities for students to create, exhibit, and engage with art as a vital part of their educational experience.”
This move is the latest development in a turbulent year for Ursinus as it fights for financial security. In the 2025-26 academic year, President Hannigan departed the college, several faculty cuts occurred, and the Dance major recently shifted, to name a few changes.
The president’s words did little to assuage the frustration and anger among
those associated with the Berman. Syd Libby ‘27, an Art major with a Creative Writing minor, was disappointed, particularly because of her prior relationship with the Berman. “I actually interned at the museum back in high school because I went here locally,” Libby stated. “It’s a long story, but the museum is the reason why I’m at Ursinus.”
Libby, who was present at the April 28th meeting, shared how the Berman community’s collective dismay with the situation shifted to action: “This [the Berman Museum] is such an important part of campus and also for the local community. We had a moment of being sad and it turned to anger…just mad at the situation, mad that of all places, this is what they targeted… people don’t understand what goes on behind the museum.”
In the days since the announcement, students have put up posters in support of the Berman. An excerpt from the poster states. Maddie O’Connor ‘26 has reached out to multiple organizations to raise awareness about the situation, including the UC Progressives. “Again, people don’t know what’s happening because the administration isn’t being clear about it,”
O’Connor stated. “And if you’re not directly connected to the museum studies or art, you might not know that this is the direction that they’re taking. So I was like, OK, maybe that’s a place to start in terms of spreading the word around campus.” Other actions students have taken include requesting a meeting with President Graml and the meeting together to discuss next steps. O’Connor also raised questions about the move in relation to Ursinus’s new APEX [Applied, Professional, Experiential] initiative. “So much of what I value from Ursinus experience, especially if we’re talking about the experiential APEX learning thing, it’s from my job at the museum,” O’Connor said. “It’s the skills I’ve learned, the stuff I’m putting on my resume and interviews that I’m mentioning for the field I’m going into. That is almost all from the Berman.”
James said there is inspiration to be drawn from the community’s response. “As tumultuous as it feels at this moment, I believe the arts will persevere. I have been blown away by the community uproar this has sparked. To see peers and faculty across so many different departments behind us asking what they can do, what can be raised, who they can contact, has meant so much to me and many others …. I believe we will fight through this not only for us but for the future creatives of Ursinus.”