Everson Museum of Art hires new executive director from contemporary arts center in Houston

Elizabeth Dunbar has been hired as the new executive director of the Everson Museum of Art. She becomes the art institution's 10th director in its 117-year history. She is expected to assume her duties by January 2015. (Photo courtesy of Frank Sherwood White)

By Melinda Johnson | mjohnson@syracuse.com 
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on October 23, 2014 at 10:26 AM, updated October 23, 2014 at 11:19 AM

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SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- The Everson Museum of Art board of trustees has hired Elizabeth Dunbar, executive director of DiverseWorks in Houston, as its new executive director. She is expected to assume her new post by January. Dunbar becomes the 10th director of the museum, succeeding Steven Kern, who resigned in January to become the chief executive officer and director of Newark Museum in New Jersey.

Dunbar was one of two finalists among 75 job applicants in the museum's nationwide search. She visited Syracuse for several days last month.

Dunbar's appointment is the beginning of the "rebirth of the museum," said Gary Grossman, president of the Everson's board of trustees. "She is a stunningly perfect candidate," he said Thursday morning. "She has a strong desire to promote an artistic vision." Grossman described Dunbar as bright, poised experienced and grounded.

He said among Dunbar's priorities will be to understand Everson's collection. "She needs to create a strong fiscal foundation and she needs to build an artistic program of excellence and national reputation."

Dunbar said Thursday morning by phone she was impressed on several fronts with the Everson making it an honor to accept the job leading the art museum. She said she has signed a three-year contract.

"The museum has a national reputation," she said. "It's got a very strong collection especially in the pioneering video art as well as the ceramics collection. The building itself is amazing. But, beyond that, I was so impressed with the board of trustees of the Everson in support of the organization especially over the last year, being without a director for as long as it's been. I could just feel in the community how much this is museum is loved and cherished."

Dunbar has served as executive director of DiverseWorks since 2012. On the DiverseWorks website, it is described as an "alternative art space" for contemporary art that includes visual and performing arts, new media and literary art. Dunbar oversees a staff of four at DiverseWorks that is a non-collecting institution. It commissions artists to create new projects. The arts organization's budget ranges from $750,000 to $900,000.

Dunbar's appointment comes during a rocky period in the 117-year-old museum's history. In mid-April the board passed a balanced budget of $1.7 million after the museum started the year with a projected $700,000 deficit. The board took decisive steps in the face of the museum's financial crises in January. Its immediate action was to cut expenses beginning with the cancellation of two traveling exhibitions, "Of Heaven and Earth: 500 Years of Italian Painting From Glasgow Museums," scheduled for April 19 to July 13, and "African American Art: Harlem Renaissance, Civil Rights Era and Beyond," slated for Oct. 18 to Jan. 4, 2015.

In the weeks that followed, the board began a nationwide search for a new museum director, cut back museum hours by closing its galleries a second day. The museum is now open Wednesday through Sunday. Designed by world-renowned architect I.M. Pei, the museum opened in October 1968 at 401 Harrison St. in downtown Syracuse.

Dunbar will oversee as a staff of 16 full-time employees at the museum. The organization has been searching for a director of development after Samara Hannah resigned last month to become managing director at Red House Arts Center. Everson also will fill the curator position.

She needs to create a strong fiscal foundation and she needs to build an artistic program of excellence and national reputation.

The new executive director said the museum's current challenges didn't dissuade her from accepting the leadership position. "Certainly, I have worked in other organizations, DiverseWorks being one of them, where I came in and I knew there were financial challenges to start with."

She believes the outlook for the Everson is "promising."

"Certainly, I have the history of working in organizations involved in balancing budgets and raising money. I think, certainly, that's one of the skills they were looking for in the next executive director. And I intend to put those skills and that experience to work."

Grossman did not disclose details on Dunbar's contract or compensation. But the museum's tax returns for 2012 show Kern's base salary was $155,866. He received an additional $13,415 that included $7,091 for retirement and other deferred compensation; $9,035 payment to assist Kern until his Connecticut home sold and $2,123 membership dues to the Century Club.

Before her leadership position at DiverseWorks, Dunbar was curator and associate director at Arthouse, a contemporary arts center in Austin for four years. Her programming was characterized as "edgy" by Glasstire, an online art website in Texas. Her position was eliminated and budget cutbacks were cited as the reason in news story in the Austin American-Statesmen in April 2011.

Dunbar said she could not comment about her departure from Arthouse because of a confidentiality agreement.

She has held curatorial positions at the Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Mo., Los Angeles County Museum of Art and Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City.

She described as one of her strengths her vast experience at arts organizations, large and small. "I have very strong background in more historic work, but I can also bring to the table a lot of experience working with more experimental contemporary work. I think being able to balance the two things putting the contemporary within in the context of the historic that gives me a certain perspective on a more comprehensive collection."

Dunbar grew up in California's Bay Area and in Texas. She earned a bachelor's degree in art history and French from Texas Tech University and master's degrees in museum studies and art history from City University of New York, City College, where she focused on 19th and 20th century American and European art. Dunbar is married and has a 5-year old son and a chocolate Labrador retriever puppy.

Everson has 1,536 members and an endowment of $4.6 million. The museum will receive county government support in 2015 for $115,449 in funds from the hotel room occupancy tax and $31,500 this year from the New York State Council on the Arts. A $300,000 fundraising campaign, "Your Museum, Your Everson," was launched in September. An anonymous individual donated $100,000, with a request the museum raise $200,000 more for a total of $300,000. It already has raised $175,000 in donations and pledges. The deadline for the matching challenge grant is Dec. 31. If Everson should fail to meet its target goal, it will still receive the anonymous donation of $100,000.

Drafting the Ideal Team: Risk Lessons from the NFL - RISK eNews

April 30, 2014 Drafting the Ideal Team: Risk Lessons from the NFL By Arley Turner Next week is my favorite event of the pro football offseason, the NFL Draft. During the draft, the General Manager of each franchise generally leads the selection of the team’s “draft picks.” Each prospective team member is carefully screened before the GM decides which players will be targeted as new players for the coming season. Every draft pick has the potential to be a star player, a solid contributor, or in some cases, a poor fit. So how do the NFL’s most successful teams choose their draft picks, and what can nonprofit leaders learn from the process? Study the Tapes, But Save Time for Candid Conversations In the NFL, studying tapes of a player’s past performance is the beginning, but never the end of the screening process. In the new film Draft Day, the fictional GM of the Cleveland Browns has an opportunity to choose a Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback. But rather than basing his decision solely on the tapes and trophy, the GM calls other scouts and the quarterback’s college coach to learn more. The time spent talking to people who know a prospective employee is incredibly valuable. Keep in mind that a prospective employee is motivated to tell you what they think you want to hear. References are an opportunity to hear about the prospect’s skills, talents and weaknesses from another source. Don’t be cynical about reference checks! Always allot sufficient time in your screening process to talk to people who truly know your top candidates. Consider Culture and Rhythm Throughout the screening process it’s essential to remember that every new hire needs to fit your culture, and also the rhythm of your nonprofit. In Draft Day, the GM constantly asks prospects what’s most important to them. While some players understandably reply, “winning,” the GM’s clear preference is for players who put family and loyalty over winning ball games. As you design your screening process for key positions, make certain you are screening for culture and rhythm mismatches. Recognize the human tendency to look for information that confirms your initial impressions about a candidate (the confirmation bias), rather than tuning in to information that suggests a mismatch. Get Your Draft Picks on the Field without Delay When asked in 2013 whether he hoped to find immediate starters in the crop of draft picks, Denver Broncos GM John Elway replied, “That's always the goal, to find these guys and get them on the field as fast as we can.” (Source: The Denver Post.) Venture capitalist and author Ben Horowitz echoes this idea in his book, “The Hard Thing About Hard Things.” Horowitz urges leaders to “aggressively integrate” new executives after hire. His tips include: providing monthly, weekly and even daily objectives to help the new hire produce “immediately,” insisting that new leaders get up to speed fast, and providing opportunities for interaction with peers by providing a “list of people they need to know and learn from.” Horowitz is a proponent of a 30-day window for new executives, writing that “If in thirty days you don’t feel that they are coming up to speed, definitely fire them.” Screening and selecting new hires for your mission-focused organization may not seem as glamorous as making draft picks in the NFL. But the consequences are just as vital to the people and communities you serve. By exercising care as you “draft” new team players, you have the best opportunity to fortify your mission for the long term, and add dedicated teammates to your cause. Arley Turner is Project Manager at the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. She welcomes your comments and questions about risk topics, the Center’s Affiliate Member program, the 2014 NFL Draft or the Denver Broncos. Arley can be reached at (202) 785-3891 orArley@nonprofitrisk.org. Affordable, Convenient Risk Management Training Each month the Center records a brand-new Risk Webinar featuring up-to-date content on issues that are top-of-mind for nonprofit leaders. The one-time cost for each program is $59, or apply to become an Affiliate Member to enjoy unlimited access to our “vault” of more than 100 hours of risk management training. Frustrated with the limitations of your annual performance review process? Learn what’s new in the field of performance management by purchasing this month’s program on Managing Risk in Performance Management. Next month’s program, on The Insurance Marketplace will be released on Monday, May 5. To purchase any recorded program or peruse the “webinar vault,” visit our 2014 Webinars page today. New Sessions Added to Upcoming Risk Conferences The conference programs for the Center’s 3 risk-themed conferences are taking shape! We invite you to browse the schedules, workshop descriptions and registration details for each event, by visiting the conference webpage. To suggest a topic for the Risk Summit in Chicago, click here.	Risk Webinars Fit-to Suit Risk Policies My Risk Management Policies, Version 2.0 helps you create custom risk policies for your organization in a matter of minutes. Need well-written policies? This cloud app makes policy drafting easy. After completing the quick registration process, search by keywords, categories or peruse an alphabetized list of 150 templates. Each template offers many options to consider. Some of the templates force you to make practical choices. For example, you might prefer an informal style over formal language. Or perhaps you want to strictly prohibit something that other nonprofits allow! With My Risk Management Policies, Version 2.0, custom-fitting policy language to suit your nonprofit is easy and dare we say… fun! Version 2.0, What’s New? We’re excited to announce some terrific new features, plus a bold new design. Many of the new features were developed with client feedback in mind. You spoke and we listened! Multiple users, one account— The new version has two levels of users: Account Holder and Added User. This means that two or more staff from one organization can collaborate on the drafting of policies. Want to get your outside counsel involved? No problem! The Account Holder for your nonprofit may grant system access to expert advisors through the “added user” feature. Policy drafting tips — We’ve added policy drafting tips at the top of many templates. This is our chance to offer a few hints from our years of experience drafting and editing risk policies for nonprofits! More policies than ever before — We have added nearly 50 new policy templates and updated many of the templates in the first version, and we’re not stopping there! As always, we welcome your suggestions for new policy types, new policy language, policy options and more. Send your requests toinfo@nonprofitrisk.org. To begin developing customized Risk Management Policies for your nonprofit,click here. The one-time licensing fee for My Risk Management Policies is only $179 or just $29 if your nonprofit is an Affiliate Member of the Nonprofit Risk Management Center.
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Rock n' Roll n' Risk Management - Risk eNEWS

Rock n’ Roll n’ Risk Management

By Melanie Lockwood Herman and Alexandra Ricketts

A friend of the Center, who happens to be an accomplished sound engineer, forwarded a terrific article to us this week about how the best rock n’ roll roadies can do things many music fans might believe are impossible. Why? Well, one reason seems to be that roadies and members of production crews are motivated to do the impossible because the show must always go on.

Why Roadies Are Our Best Bet For Typhoon Haiyan Relief In The Philippines, by Ruth Blatt, published at www.forbes.com, features an interview with Charlie Hernandez, a former roadie and production manager for The Police. Blatt, who writes about “the intersection of rock n’ roll and business,” describes how roadies and the rock concerts they support “descend upon a site and then quickly disappear. Along the way, they face technical complexity, divergent regulations, multiple vendors, language barriers, and the certainty of unforeseen obstacles.”

As we read about how touring professionals came together to provide relief in Haiti and Pakistan after the disasters in those countries in 2010, we couldn’t help but see that the talents of roadies offer valuable lessons for nonprofit leaders charged with ensuring that their missions go on.

Risk Tips from the Road

·         Ask for Help and Be Eager to Help — In addition to “somebody to love,” every nonprofit leader needs lots of somebodies to help sustain a charitable mission. The article explains that despite the demands of the work and lifestyle, many roadies and production managers spend their free time helping others. As a result, the best in the business have bigger contact lists in their cell phones than professional match makers. According to our sound engineer friend, keeping a mental note of the skills and interests of people you meet on the road, and saving contact details, are essential to getting the help you need when you need it.

·         Close the Loop — Roadies don’t call it a day until every piece of equipment is packed up and on the truck or headed to the airport. The ability to follow-through until the job is completely done is essential to making sure the band is ready for the next stop on the tour. The commitment to closing the loop is applicable in risk management as well. Whether it’s conducting an in-depth review of the nonprofit’s policies and the actions taken by staff after an accident or near-miss, or taking the time to tell a vendor the reasons you’ve decided to change providers, closing the loop is fundamental to preserving trust in key relationships, learning from experience, and inspiring confidence in your mission and team.

·         Inspire Loyalty — Blatt’s article explains that “fierce camaraderie” is a must in the tough business of rock n’ roll. That means you’re unlikely to hear about a roadie throwing a fellow roadie under the tour bus, literally or figuratively! Many nonprofit leaders have learned the hard way that you need to earn, rather than insist, on loyalty. True loyalty exists in nonprofits where staff members believe that executives bring integrity to the job each and every day. In the world of risk management, lukewarm loyalty is a downside risk waiting to materialize. When staff are disloyal or disillusioned they are more likely to disregard the risk management policies of the nonprofit.

The Queen song The Show Must Go On was the final track on the rock band’s 1991 album, Innuendo. Written principally by band member Brian May, The Show Must Go On is regarded as a tribute to the bravery and fierce determination of lead singer Freddie Mercury, who continued to perform despite being gravely ill. The song was released as a single, just six weeks before Mercury died in 1991. The song reminds us that nonprofit missions are vital to the health and well-being of individuals, communities and the environment, and therefore must also go on. To reach your goal of becoming an effective risk champion, remember to ask for help and give help freely, close the loop after accidents and near-misses, and inspire true loyalty by leading with integrity.

Melanie Herman is Executive Director and Alexandra Ricketts is Project Manager at the Nonprofit Risk Management Center. Melanie and Alex welcome your feedback on this article or questions about the Center’s resources for nonprofits at Melanie@nonprofitrisk.org, Alexandra@nonprofitrisk.org or(202) 785-3891.