Managing a museum is a lot like managing any other business. Many of the same challenges exist: financial stability, long-term sustainability and relevance to what is hopefully a growing customer base. How those challenges are approached is also what makes museum management unique, as executive directors, curators, board members, corporate sponsors, individual donors and community volunteers come together to support and promote a shared passion to enrich people’s lives through ever-changing exhibits, programs and collections.
Three local executive directors recently shared their thoughts on the art of running a museum.
Karen Brosius
Executive Director
Columbia Museum of Art
www.columbiamuseum.org
Jane Przybysz, Ph.D.
Executive Director
McKissick Museum,
University of South Carolina
www.cas.sc.edu/mcks
Willie Calloway
Executive Director
South Carolina State Museum
www.museum.state.sc.us
Q: How did you first get started in museum management, and how long have you held your current role?
Brosius: “My first job in museum management was at the Morgan Library and Museum in Manhattan. I was in graduate school and worked for the executive director. I learned a lot about development and the importance of having a bird’s eye view of the whole institution – getting to know all of the curators, directors, and people in public relations and development to gain a broader view of what’s happening. That’s valuable to any organization and is part of what makes my job so fun and interesting. I’ve been with the Columbia Museum of Art since 2004 – these past seven years have really flown by.”
Przybysz: “My career in museums began at McKissick when I was hired as the principal investigator for a National Endowment for the Humanities grant-funded project, the Southeastern Crafts Revival Project. My doctoral research at New York University had focused on quilts as they related to the history of women and performance – my scholarly interest was a good fit for that initial project. My foray into management began when I left McKissick to become executive director of the San Jose Museum of Quilts and Textiles, a job for which my doctoral work made me uniquely qualified.”
Calloway: “Born in Charleston but raised in Atlanta, I started at Six Flags Over Georgia in 1970 to put myself through college at Georgia Tech and ended up working there full-time from 1975-1995. I was vice president of retail operations for the last 10 years, overseeing 50 retail outlets. In 1996, I was recruited away to start a museum for the Kellogg company in Battle Creek, Michigan, and was there for six and a half years. I wanted to get back to South Carolina, applied for this job in 2002, and have been here ever since.”
Q: How would you compare running a museum to running a more “traditional” business? What are some of your most important duties? Your greatest challenges?
Brosius: “There are many similarities. Museums are run on big dreams, but it takes money and a lot of planning. You may not have a net profit, but you definitely make a net impact on your community. Some of my most important duties include fundraising, setting a strategy for the institution as a whole, and creating energy for our board and staff members. An energized staff drives everything in the organization. As far as challenges, economic uncertainty makes my future-oriented job difficult. We’ve learned in this downturn that endowment doesn’t necessarily guard you against difficult times. If we make a decision to spend money that’s not in the budget, how will we replenish it? We must know the answer before making that decision.”
Przybysz: “Having attended an intensive nonprofit arts executive training program at Stanford University’s School of Social Innovation, I’ve learned that running a successful nonprofit is not so different from running a successful for-profit business. Clarity is needed in all areas: vision, mission and goals; values, products and services; and your target audience(s). A for-profit model is more straightforward, because nonprofits can’t charge their customers what it costs to produce an experience. Instead, we rely on diverse forms of contributed – versus earned – revenue to sustain operations. My most important responsibilities include articulating a clear vision, mission and set of values for the organization, insuring that we produce high-quality, relevant ‘products’, and diversifying revenue streams for long-term sustainability. Managing the changes that come with having not only a new director, but two new staff members as well, has proved somewhat daunting.”
Calloway: “There are a lot of similarities, but the main difference is how your success is measured. In a traditional business, your financial reports reflect both personal and customer satisfaction. With nonprofits, there are many more indicators of success: a good culture, an empowered staff, and knowing that you are enriching the lives of others. Right now, we’re operating with 24 staff members from a high of 67 – it’s definitely been challenging to maintain the high quality of diverse exhibits and programs with much fewer resources in terms of time, people and money. That being said, as long as we still have guests and school children who want to visit, we are committed to finding new ways to create memorable, educational experiences.”
Q: How is your museum funded? How have you been affected by recent economy issues, budget cuts, etc., and what are your plans for continued financial sustainability?
Brosius: “We receive hospitality tax from Richland County and the City of Columbia. We are not a city-run institution but part of the city and county infrastructure. They’ve invested a lot and are critical to the stability of the organization. With that commitment, we can solicit donations from corporations, foundations and individuals as the foremost international art museum in South Carolina, using that as our pillar to raise funds and interest in memberships statewide. Our staff members have not had the raises that they certainly deserve, but they’re hanging tough and staying with us, and we’re all excited about the future. One new initiative for financial sustainability is broadening our customer base beyond the Midlands, including outreach to schools.”
Przybysz: “Historically, McKissick has been funded primarily by the University, with earned revenue from major traveling exhibits – initiated with major federal grant support every three to five years – providing an important source of income that was reinvested in exhibit research and development. University funding was reduced in the recent state budget crisis, and our budget was cut. Our advisory council responded by reinvigorating our membership program, a strategy I have continued to support. My plans for ensuring long-term financial sustainability include developing and implementing an array of audience development initiatives and increasing contributed revenue from individuals, foundations and corporations.”
Calloway: “Our museum is funded in four ways: by the state, by revenue earned through tickets, retail or rentals, by a foundation that helps raise private funds, and by grants. We certainly encourage the public to become members – which supports us through membership fees and allows them to enjoy the museum all year long – and to contribute to our annual fund campaign. We also welcome volunteers to help with school groups, in our store, and as advocates for continued funding and support.”
Q: How do you maintain public interest in your collections and exhibits? How do museums compete for relevance with a changing community, emerging technologies or other “high-tech” entertainment or educational options?
Brosius: “In the past, museum mission statements have been about collecting, preserving and exhibiting objects from the past. That’s a noble pursuit, but then what? To remain vibrant and active, many have moved in the direction of inspiring and educating people – when you focus on people, it changes everything. As far as technology, we’re always striving to move forward. We’re currently working on a mobile version of our website for increased access. All galleries are wireless, and we offer cell phone audio tours. Our staff is well trained in statistics and methodology and relies heavily on visitor surveys to keep things relevant and meaningful.”
Przybysz: “McKissick offers quarterly nature talks with USC naturalist Rudy Mancke to keep the public engaged with our natural history collections and exhibits. We recently launched Movies at McKissick: Screening the South to bring students and faculty together to consider how the story of Southern life has been told through film. With Digital Traditions, archival materials from our Folklife Resource Center are available to the public. Having just completed digitizing its Southern material culture collection, the museum is now embarking on a major effort to digitize its natural science collection. We have a Facebook page that we update regularly and tweet when we have something to crow about.”
Calloway: “Competing with technology requires money. By the time this goes to press, we’ll have announced a $23 million expansion project. To keep things fresh and new, we bring in traveling exhibits and try to rotate our permanent collection as much as possible. Only five percent of our collection is on display at any one time, so there’s always something new to see. About 200 volunteers help us offer unique, one-on-one learning experiences. What always motivates me is seeing interaction between families – moms and dads reading the panels to their kids. There’s a good family experience every time you visit.”