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  • 1.  Museum director as Board member

    Posted 06-22-2022 12:12 PM
    I am on the board of a small museum. A long-time board member has proposed a bylaws revision to make our director a voting member of the board ( except for personnel matters). The rationale is the Director should have a say in programming, fundraising events, etc. Has anyone instituted this at their museum?


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  • 2.  RE: Museum director as Board member

    Posted 06-23-2022 02:24 PM
    The Executive  Director should not be a member of the Board, since they are, essentially, the employer of the ED.   It looks like the Board may not be understanding its own function, if it is deciding about "programming, fund-raising events, etc."   The Board sets policy, but the ED is the one who implements it on a day-to-day basis, including planning programs.   Fund-raising in a small museum is often done collaboratively between staff and Board.

    There's a lot of literature out there about Boards and their proper roles, but I usually go back to Alan and Patricia Ullberg's Museum Trusteeship [they use that term to mean any title given to governing Board members]:
    Policy always covers the general and is concerned with principles, while administration is the detailed execution of those principles on a daily basis.

    Stay safe,

    janice

    -- 
    Janice Klein
    EightSixSix Consulting
    SMAC-AAM Board Member





  • 3.  RE: Museum director as Board member

    Posted 06-24-2022 10:05 AM
    I could not agree more with Janice's comment. I spent most of my career as a museum and/or nonprofit ED and she is spot on. I found the Board Source site to be very helpful as well. I think there's more behind a paywall than there used to be, but there is still a ton of helpful information, both for the ED and for members of the board about their roles and the division of responsibilities.

    Best,
    Teresa

    Teresa M Goforth
    Director of Exhibitions
    Michigan State University Museum

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    Teresa Goforth
    Exhibitions Manager
    Michigan State University Museum
    East Lansing MI
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