The University of Maryland’s Department of Transportation Services is providing a free weekly shuttle bus to The Phillips Collection in Washington this semester through their joint partnership with the art museum, according to the Stamp Student Union website.
The bus, which runs once every Thursday until Dec. 8 — except for Thanksgiving — departs from the bus stop outside Stamp at 5:30 p.m., arrives at the Phillips Collection main entrance, and returns students to the campus at 8:30 p.m., according to Stamp’s website.
“We are thrilled that the shuttle is being operated,” said Sarah Corley, a Phillips Collection spokeswoman. “Thursday is the day of the week where we stay open for later hours, so students can enjoy special events, some of which are sponsored by the university.”
Admission to the Phillips Collection usually costs $10 for students and $12 for adults, but because of the partnership between the two institutions, admission is free for all students at this university with student IDs.
This university’s chamber concert is taking place on Oct. 13, university spokesman Brian Ullmann said. Students can take the shuttle to see this concert, which will feature Henri Dutilleux’s work. The concert is part of the university’s goal of integrating the School of Music with The Phillips Collection, Ullmann said.
Thursday nights are also when most of this university’s co-sponsored series, the “Conversations with Artists,” take place. At these talks, artists share their work with the attendees and answer questions. The next talk, featuring Dario Robleto, is on Oct. 27, Corley said.
Students can also take the shuttle to see the Intersections series, which is presented by this university along with support of Phillips Collection members, Corley said. A new sculpture exhibit by Arlene Shechet is opening on Oct. 20, and on Nov. 3, she will discuss her exhibition in a discussion that anyone from the public, including students, can attend.
While the initial partnership — which university officials announced in October 2015 — took about nine months to finalize, the idea for the shuttle came up over the summer and was quickly approved.
University Senior Vice President and Provost Mary Ann Rankin, Student Affairs Vice President Linda Clement and The Phillips director Dorothy Kosinski all took part in the discussion of a shuttle as a way to make it easy for students to travel to the museum and take advantage of its resources, said David Cronrath, a professor at the architecture school. Ullmann and Cronrath were also involved in the conversations.
“We wanted to foster the idea that this museum is a huge asset to this university,” Ullmann said. “We wanted to eliminate any barriers in participating in this partnership.”
Before the partnership, this university was the only school in the Big Ten not associated with a museum. So university President Wallace Loh set out to change that, Ullmann said.
“President Loh has been passionate about making sure that we are a comprehensively excellent university, so he very much wanted to make a partnership with a significant museum,” Ullmann said. “If you are an art history major, you need access to your assets, which he wanted to provide.”
Ullmann said the university will continue to provide the shuttle in upcoming semesters, just as it plans on continuing its partnership with The Phillips Collection.
“Few students know about the shuttle, but we expect ridership to grow over the semester as more people learn about the service,” Ullmann said. “Once students understand that we are doing lectures, concerts and nighttime gallery openings, I think they will take advantage of it.”
