Economic woes hurt Field Museum

The sharp drop of the stock market last year resulted in a 30 percent decrease in the size of the Field Museum's endowment.

Museum president John McCarter said Tuesday belt-tightening will mean the museum will not present Lucy, a 3.2 million-year-old fossil of an ape-man species that was to debut this fall.

McCarter said the $95 million decline in the museum's endowment to $220 million will also result in salary cuts, layoffs and buyout offers to scientists and other employees.

Chicago History Museum president Gary Johnson said nonprofit institutions which rely on revenues from investments to help cover costs are grappling with endowment declines. He pointed out nonprofits typically transfer about 5 percent of the value of their endowment to help cover operations.

Johnson said he doesn't foresee any Chicago museums closing.