June 14, 2023
The Mütter Museum and The College of Physicians of Philadelphia has issued the below response to an recently published in the Wall Street Journal.
To the Editor:
In response to my friend Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, “Cancel Culture Comes for Philly’s Weirdest Museum,” I think his fight with “woke elites” mistakenly includes his colleagues on the Board of the College of Physicians of Philadelphia, which runs the Mütter Museum.
Far from attempting to “sanitize” a treasured Philadelphia institution, the Board last week voted unanimously to affirm the Mütter’s continued role in the mission of the College, and its support for the ongoing review of 450 online Mütter videos to ensure that they meet professional standards and serve the College’s mission, “advancing the cause of health while upholding the ideals and heritage of medicine.” We expect that many of the videos will return by Labor Day.
We do not intend a “deconstruction” of the Museum, nor do we seek to “remake the Mütter into its own ideological antithesis.” On the contrary, our goal is to make the visitor experience even better.
We have made these points repeatedly and publicly, but Dr. Goldfarb appears unconvinced. That said, his oped may provide a solution. He’s right about the fact that he has great expertise and experience at the Mütter, which would make him a valuable addition to the review panel. So, I cordially invite Dr. Goldfarb to join the panel in reviewing the videos, fairly and impartially. At the very least, he can see for himself that our intention is to Do No Harm to a Museum that means so much to all of us.
Sincerely,
Julia A. Haller, MD
Chair, Board of Trustees