Brandeis has reached a settlement with four supporters ofthe university's Rose Museum by agreeing not to sell off works from itscollection, the university announcedyesterday. The dispute stretches back to 2009, when the board of trustees votedto authorize the sale of artwork from the Rose's collection if necessary, tocombat the economic downturn. The settlement agreement states that the Rose isand will remain a university art museum open to the public and that Brandeishas no plan to sell artwork.

"This is a very good day for Brandeis and the Rose ArtMuseum and people who care deeply about both," said University President FredLawrence in a statement. "We are thrilled that this is behind us and we lookforward to celebrating the museum's 50th anniversary this fall."Lawrence assumed his position in January after former university presidentJehuda Reinharz stepped down. Reinharz had faced harsh criticism for hishandling of the Rose controversy.

"What made the change is a brand new administration,"Jonathan Lee, one of the plaintiffs in the suit, told the New England Journalof Aesthetic Research. "The other administration had dug into one course."

The two-year-long saga began when Brandeis trustees voted toconvert the museum from a public institution into a private study center andgallery. The proposal stated that the museum would also sell some of its collection — considered to be among themost important modern and contemporary holdings in New England — to raise money.The announcement prompted an outcry from students, faculty, and museum supportersacross the country.

Though the administration quickly revised its decision andpromised not to sell artwork in the foreseeable future, four prominent Rosebenefactors sued the university to protect the collection and prevent theshuttering of the Rose in July 2009. The same year, the Massachusetts attorney general's office also beganinvestigating the propriety of the administration's actions regarding themuseum. The office terminated the review on July 20, thanks to the impendingsettlement.

"I think the major thing was a focus on the future, not thepast," Lawrence told the New England Journal. Indeed, the administration iscurrently taking several forward-looking steps in its management of the Rose,actively continuing the search for a new director and proceeding with ongoingrenovations. Although Lawrence told the New York Times that a plan proposedlast year to raise money by temporarily lending artwork through Sotheby'sremains an option, "what we're really focused on is the future of the Rose."

"It's not a perfect agreement," Meryl Rose, on of the fourplaintiffs, told the Journal, "But it says they're not going to sell thecollection. That's what we were fighting for."