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Drexel University<\/a> and the Academy of Natural Sciences are at a standstill over the Academy\u2019s future \u2014 and now it\u2019s a question of who will blink first.<\/p>\n The more-than-monthlong stalemate appears to center on money, power, and control of the 214-year-old Academy.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are no talks scheduled,\u201d said David L. Cohen, the former Comcast executive and U.S. ambassador to Canada who has been attempting to broker an agreement.<\/p>\n For the first time in weeks, pulling back the curtain on what have been confidential talks, Cohen and leaders of both Drexel and the Academy shared details of the negotiations and their perceptions of the sticking points.<\/p>\n Cohen said in an interview last week that talks broke off after the Academy said it wanted to pursue disaffiliation from Drexel but the two sides disagreed on terms. <\/p>\n The stalemate continues even as the university and the Academy announced Friday that they would accept a review funded by the William Penn Foundation<\/a> and other foundations for wide-ranging feasibility studies on the physical and fiscal conditions of the Academy and a sustainable model for its future. <\/p>\n The negotiations on the governance and fiscal structure of the Academy, however, are separate from the review, Drexel president Antonio Merlo said in a Friday interview. <\/p>\n On Monday, City Council will begin the second part of a hearing<\/a> investigating the shutdown of the Academy\u2019s museum, with Merlo and Deputy Mayor Patricia Wellenbach \u2014 who were subpoenaed<\/a> by Council \u2014 scheduled to testify. The museum closed<\/a> to the public on Sept. 27, drawing outrage and protest<\/a> by community activists and Academy proponents. <\/p>\n Cohen said Council\u2019s steps have \u201cinterfered with\u201d the negotiations between Drexel and the Academy. \u201cThe public vilification and witch hunt that we\u2019re engaged in now is not constructive to coming up with a solution,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Councilmember Isaiah Thomas<\/a>, who leads the committee running the hearing, declined to address Cohen\u2019s comments. But he said he has been involved in a lot of positive conversations with people who want to step up and save the Academy. There are multiple donors willing to put up \u201ctens of millions of dollars\u201d once the Academy\u2019s path is clear, he said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe biggest holdup now is Drexel and the Academy defining their relationship,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Donors<\/a>, he said, do not want to commit until they know the status of the Academy and Drexel. <\/p>\n \u201cIf I\u2019m a philanthropist and there\u2019s not clarity on what you\u2019re doing moving forward, why would I donate now? Am I donating to the Academy or am I donating to Drexel University? I\u2019ll donate when I get clarity \u2026\u201d <\/p>\n A disputed \u2018term sheet\u2019<\/p>\n Less than a year ago, Gov. Josh Shapiro<\/a> and Mayor Cherelle L. Parker<\/a> asked Cohen to help with the negotiations between Drexel and the Academy. Drexel had wanted the Academy, which it felt had become a financial drain, to fully merge into the university or disaffiliate<\/a>. <\/p>\n When talks lagged in July, Drexel threatened to cut off funding to the Academy, which would have \u201csummarily put the Academy out of business,\u201d according to Academy board chairperson Suzanne Biemiller.<\/p>\n Cohen said he had brokered a \u201cterm sheet\u201d that both sides had signed off on in September. It would have allowed for the \u201csurvival and healthy existence\u201d of the Academy, he said. When it came time to negotiate \u201cdefinitive documentation to implement the terms,\u201d the two sides traded \u201ccompeting proposals,\u201d which Cohen said he did not think were that much at odds. <\/p>\n But after he called a meeting in early October to discuss the proposals, the Academy had changed its position and said it no longer wanted to implement the terms but instead pursue disaffiliation from Drexel, Cohen said. <\/p>\n \u201cThey essentially reneged on the agreement that was reached in good faith,\u201d Merlo said.<\/p>\n Biemiller disagreed with that characterization. <\/p>\n \u201cWe said that the term sheet did not work economically and that the trustees of the Academy would therefore not approve it,\u201d she said. She added that Drexel\u2019s initial rejection of an offer by the William Penn Foundation to fund operating expenses of the Academy to keep the museum open \u201csignaled to the Academy trustees that Drexel wasn\u2019t working in the best interest of the Academy.\u201d <\/p>\n The Academy, Cohen said, believed it could generate enough support through philanthropy, \u201cnew partners,\u201d and government funding to stand on its own.<\/p>\n He, the mayor, and the governor were all \u201cskeptical\u201d of that position. Biemiller countered that trustees have heard from a number of individuals and civic leaders who want to help the Academy. <\/p>\n (Shapiro\u2019s spokesperson did not provide comment; neither did Parker\u2019s.) <\/p>\n Disaffiliate or fully merge?<\/p>\n