Robert S. Peabody Institute 2020 Annual Report

The Peabody and The Knowledge and Goodness Campaign The Knowledge & Goodness Campaign, launched in fall 2017, is a $400 million dollar fundraising effort and the largest in the history of Phillips Academy. The Peabody Institute has a goal of $2.5 million dollars as part of the campaign, largely focused on improved collections care and storage.

The Peabody Institute houses 500,000+ objects, ranging from significant archaeological collections acquired during expeditions to sites from the Northeastern United States and Canada to Mexico and Peru, as well as important ethnographic collections including baskets, pottery, textiles, and more from cultures in North and Central America.

The Peabody’s current collections storage—in terms of physical space and climate control—is inadequate to maintain these collections. Objects are housed in deteriorating wooden cabinets and most collections are subject to extreme fluctuations in temperature and relative humidity that accelerate decay.

The Collections Storage Revitalization Program focuses on creating a modern, climate controlled storage facility in the Peabody Institute. Major project components include installation of climate control systems and high density metal shelving to provide for the storage of valuable object, archive, and photographic collections.

This is a significant naming opportunity, directly aligned with the Peabody’s 2015-2020 strategic plan. The plan states that “activities and practices that improve physical and intellectual control over collections are paramount,” noting that the “Peabody’s archives, photographs, and object collections are the cornerstone of our engagement with the curriculum at the Academy and our connection to the broader community of archaeologists, anthropologists, and Native Americans.”