The short answers are:
1) The Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh does have a
policy regarding nepotism;
2) Prior to 1987, Pittsburgh's original Buhl
Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science [a.k.a.
Buhl Science Center] did NOT have policy regarding
nepotism.
So, I have to bring-up a second question in this
conversation: What about the "grandfather clause" ?
Let me explain. I was employed with the original Buhl
Planetarium and Institute of Popular Science from 1982
to 1991. In 1987, Buhl Planetarium merged with
Carnegie Museums.
As I mentioned, Buhl Planetarium did not have a
nepotism policy while Carnegie Museums did. And, there
was a major problem after the merger.
Buhl Planetarium's chief accountant, and her daughter
[who worked as an accounting clerk], worked in the
Buhl Planetarium accounting office for many years,
prior to the merger. Although today this may not seem
wise, it worked well in the 1980s and there was never
any impropriety or appearance of impropriety.
With the merger, Carnegie Institute management said
that the mother and daughter could not, both, continue
working in the Accounting Department. For a while, the
former President of Buhl Planetarium, who was now on
the Carnegie Institute Board of Trustees, was able to
forestall any change in the Buhl Accounting
Department.
However, eventually, Carnegie Institute management
insisted that the mother and daughter could not, both,
continue working in the Accounting Department. The
daughter was told she could transfer to another
department. However, due to bitter feelings, the
daughter chose to leave the organization.
About a year later, Buhl's chief accountant retired. I
think she would have stayed longer had this situation
not arisen.
So, I am sure most people would agree that a mother
and daughter should not be hired to work in the same
department--and, certainly, not in a department as
sensitive as accounting. However, in the situation I
just outlined, would not grandfathering this situation
have been beneficial to the organization?
Chances are that the mother would have retired within
a few years anyway, and the problem would have
resolved itself. Yes, both of these women are friends
of mine, so I feel disappointment over what happened
around 1990.
So, would a "grandfather clause" have been a
reasonable solution to this problem, or did the
removal of the daughter from the Accounting Department
have to occur, regardless of her years of loyalty to
the organization?
gaw
--- Wesley Creel <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
Date: Fri, 3 Aug 2007 15:03:31 -0400
From: "Wesley Creel" <[log in to unmask]>
Subject: [MUSEUM-L] Nepotism Policy
To: [log in to unmask]
> Good Afternoon All,
> 1.) Does your museum have a Board approved....or
> Governing Authority
> approved policy, regarding nepotism in the
> workplace? Our museum has a
> nepotism policy that refers to immediate family, but
> it does NOT define what is
> an immediate family.
> 2.) As you can well imagine, there is always
> someone who may ask the
> question, "What is the museum's definition of
> immediate family?" Before we go
> off and re-invent the wheel.......I would appreciate
> receiving a definition
> of "immediate family" that has been approved by a
> board or governing
> authority.
> 3.) Our attorney has suggested that we use the
> following:
> "Parents, brothers, sisters, children, relatives
> supported financially, father-in-
> law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law, and
> brother-in-law." This definition is
> incorporated in the National Association of
> Securities Dealers Rules of Fair
> Practice on abuses of hot issues through such
> practices as Freeriding and
> Withholding. The ruling prohibits the sale of such
> securities to members of a
> broker-dealer's own family or to persons buying and
> selling for institutional
> accounts and their families. This definition looks
> good....BUT.....
> 4.) It should be noted that the definition in
> paragraph #3 would allow the
> hiring of 1st cousins.........Being a "Southern Boy"
> I can tell you that no
> Southerners were present when the National
> Association of Securities Dealers
> wrote that definition......because in a Southern
> kinship system cousins
> are "almost" like brothers and sisters......Being
> located in the heart of the Mid-
> South, you can appreciate why we are taking care in
> writing this definition.
> Thanks for your time and consideration and....
> Have a wonderful weekend!
> Wesley
> Wesley S. Creel
> Administrator of Programs
> Pink Palace Family of Museums
> Memphis, TN
> www.memphismuseums.org
> office 901.320.6370
gaw
Glenn A. Walsh
Electronic Mail - < [log in to unmask] >
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Author of History Web Sites on the Internet --
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