In an unusual move, spurred by a University Museum board member who believed in the significance of Ban Chiang, White eventually took over. While struggling with the Ban Chiang analysis, White learned that funders prefer to donate to excavations, but not all excavations. Money for analysis and publication is much harder to come by. Yet analysis and publication account for 90 percent of the work, says White. White's situation was not unusual.
Many excavations remain unanalyzed and unpublished.
But she could not let either death or dearth of money interfere with disseminating the knowledge from such an important project. That determination has helped transform White into a champion of Ban Chiang. She overcame the embarrassment of asking her staff for money, and, to her surprise, they donated, too. She has an advisory board and she has coordinated all fund-raising efforts with the development staff of the museum and the central development staff of the University. She publishes a small FOBC newsletter.