I did a little sleuthing on the 'net. It's interesting to see the local
paper's slant on the controversy (This is from the Stanstead Journal --
http://www.stanstead-journal.com/mainframe.html )
STANSTEAD MUSEUM DIRECTOR
QUITS BEFORE CONTRACT ENDS
ROSS MURRAY
STANSTEAD, QUEBEC | Three and a half months short of the
end of his contract, the director-curator of the Colby-Curtis
Museum in Stanstead resigned last week.
The president of the Stanstead Historical Society, Aileen
Desbarats, said in a faxed statement that "there are
irreconcilable differences" between the board and Hervé
Gagnon.
The society board had already informed Gagnon that his
contract would not be renewed once it expired at the end of
May.
The resignation came last Tuesday following a meeting of
Gagnon and the board Monday.
Can't take anything away
Gagnon was reluctant to comment on his resignation,
saying he did so for personal reasons.
"I want to pursue something else. It's not the end of the
world," he said.
Besides working at the museum, Gagnon has also been
teaching at the Université de Sherbrooke. He said his
work-load there has increased. He has also applied for
other jobs.
"I don't regret anything," he said. "I don't think anyone can
take anything away from me."
The Colby-Curtis Museum has been rife with on-again,
off-again turmoil over the last four years. In 1995,
director-curator Sylvia Bertollini resigned after a conflict
with the board. Last year, the society's president, Louise
Abbott, and vice-president, Rosemary Miller, resigned
without offering any public explanation. Gagnon's
resignation comes at the end of three years of stormy
relations with the board.
Into this lion's den will come a familiar face to the region's
historical and museology scene. Desbarats said in her
faxed statement that Monique Nadeau-Saumier has agreed
to act as interim director of the museum for one year
starting June 1.
Nadeau-Saumier was involved in the acquisition of
Carrollcroft seven years ago. She is also the past director
of the Eastern Townships Research Centre and the Musée
des Beaux Arts de Sherbrooke.
"We intend to put together a strong search committee to
review the requirements of the job and find a new director
for the museum," stated Desbarats.
Just call me Nancy Drew...
(or Heather Price, Ella Sharp Museum, Jackson, MI)
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