Dear Colleagues:
I am seeking advice on a governance issue. Friends of the
Appalachian Cultural Museum, a subsidiary of Appalachian State
University, have received an invitation from the city of Boone, North
Carolina to build a new museum on 36 1/2 acres of city-owned property.
As this property currently also houses an outdoor drama, a small museum
of pioneer log cabins, a wildflower garden, a farmers market and an
arboretum, the city has also agreed to allow the Museum to present a
master plan of the entire area. So, here's what we would like to do.
Build a new building on the site. The city would, of course, continue
to own the real estate and we aren't sure who would own the building.
Certainly the Museum would have to do the fundraising for the building.
As the University has promised to provide staffing and collections for a
new Museum, the University would continue to be a partner, but we would
prefer that the University cede any management authority to a subsidiary
501 (c) 3 organization that would essentially serve as a board of
trustees. Are any of you familiar with similar arrangements. I am
aware of the original establishment of museums such as the Metropolitan
and the American Museum of Natural History in NY and the Philadelphia
Museum of Art, which were cooperatives between cities and private
trustees. I'd be interested in hearing from people associated with such
museums - they need not specifically be university museums - as to
successes, pitfalls and so forth. Naturally, any advice, comments or
views, on Museum-L or privately to me, would be welcome.
Sincerely,
Chuck Watkins
Director, The Appalachian Cultural Museum
[log in to unmask]
828-262-3117
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