UNION STATION, despite its wildly successful Dead Sea Scrolls exhibition, has lost its accreditation due to financial problems:

Union Station loses professional accreditation because of financial instability
By MATT CAMPBELL
The Kansas City Star

Union Station this week lost its professional accreditation because of financial instability.

Officials said the loss, while disappointing, would not affect daily operations, although it could have an impact on future projects.

In a letter dated Thursday, the American Association of Museums praised the station for its progress in many areas but noted that it had eaten up most of its endowment over the last six years and failed to establish a solid foundation for the future.

“There is no track record of financial stability,” the association said.

The accreditation lapse comes as Union Station is poised to end the year in the black for the first time since it was restored in 1999.

“We hoped that by showing them (the accreditation commission ) that we had cut our budget down and turned the corner with this year’s projected profit that that would have been enough,” Union Station Chief Executive Officer Andi Udris said Friday. “They are smart enough to recognize that the only reason we turned the corner was that we had the Dead Sea Scrolls. They said you cannot expect to survive on these blockbusters.”

Udris said ongoing financial stability would require a combination of public and private support.

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