Douglas Henry State Museum Commission Meeting Minutes March 7, 2011

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1 Douglas Henry State Museum Commission (DHSMC, The Commission): Chairman Victor Ashe, Vice Chairman Charles W. Cook, Jr., Deborah DiPietro, Representative Steve McDaniel, Evadine McMahan, Representative Charles M. Sargent, Jr., Dr. Jan F. Simek, Anna Durham Windrow, Lois Riggins-Ezzell, Ex-officio Tennessee State Museum Staff: Mary Jane Crockett-Green, Sharon Dennis, Leigh Hendry, Dan Pomeroy, Public Programs staff: Jeff Sellers, education curator, Ryan Adcock, public programs coordinator, & Debbie Shaw, public programs assistant Absent: Mary Ann Clark, Nancy De Friece, Speaker Beth Harwell, Senator Douglas Henry, Johnny B. Moore, Jr. Guests: Robert Thomas, Tennessee State Museum Foundation; Elizabeth Driver, Attorney General s office Chairman Victor Ashe called the meeting of the Douglas Henry State Museum Commission (DHSMC) to order at 10:10 a.m. with quorum. He opened the meeting by welcoming Representative Charles Sargent to the commission as Chairman of the House Finance, Ways, & Means Committee. Chairman Ashe then turned to the agenda and the following business was discussed: Approval of the Minutes: Chairman Ashe asked if there were any corrections to the minutes. As there were no changes, Vice Chairman Charles Cook made a motion to approve the minutes; Anna Durham Windrow seconded. The Commission approved the minutes for December 6, Chairman Ashe asked Representative Steve McDaniel to proceed with the Mission/Policy committee report. Mission/Policy Committee: As Chair of the Mission/Policy Committee, Representative McDaniel presented the minutes from the meeting on February 7, 2011, for the Commission s review and approval. The committee discussed the museum s succession plan when it was under the governance of the Tennessee Arts Commission as well as the DHSMC s current operating policies. Following the discussion, the committee decided to continue with its current TSM emergency succession plan and approved it. The Mission/Policy Committee also determined that the Commission Chairman or his or her designee would conduct an annual evaluation of the executive director prior to July 1 of each year. The DHSMC and the Tennessee State Museum Foundation board would mutually like to meet and discuss priorities for the museum. Representative McDaniel also noted that Lois Riggins-Ezzell had communicated her plan to perform a Class-Comp Review for museum staff. As there was no further discussion of the committee s minutes and recommendations, Chairman Ashe called for a motion to approve the meeting minutes, which would include acceptance of the Mission/Policy Committee s decisions regarding the succession plan and the executive director s annual evaluation. Representative McDaniel made the motion; Dr. Jan Simek seconded. The commission voted on and approved the Mission/Policy Committee s meeting minutes and recommendations. 1

2 Executive Director s Report: Ms. Riggins-Ezzell reported on the following museum activities and programs: Governor Bill Haslam s Inaugural: The Tennessee State Museum served as the host site for a reception given by Governor Haslam and his cabinet for the General Assembly scheduled for the evening prior to the inaugural event. It was the first event for the new governor s administration. The Governor and the First Lady have also toured the museum s exhibition and collections storage areas, so that they are familiar with the agency, its purpose, its activities, and its needs. The museum has also met with the new administration s state architect, Bob Oglesby. A Tennessee Waltz: The 19 th annual fundraising gala for the Tennessee State Museum Foundation is scheduled for Saturday, April 30, All commission members are encouraged to attend. Egypt: Relics, Replicas, & Revivals Treasures from Tutankhamun: The museum recently opened the three-part exhibition which includes artifacts from the University of Memphis Institute of Egyptian Art & Archaeology (the relics); objects from the McClung Museum in Knoxville reflective of ancient Egypt s influences on Tennessee and the nation; as well as an exhibit featuring hand-crafted recreations of the objects found in King Tutankhamun s tomb replicated by the International Museum Institute of New York. Ms. Riggins-Ezzell thanked Vice Chairman Cook for his presence at the opening reception for the exhibition on Saturday, February 26, Approximately 500 guests attended the reception, and another 500 museum visitors came to see the exhibition on its opening day (Sunday, February 27, 2011). She also acknowledged Bridgestone Firestone and PLA Media for their generous support of the exhibition and the Gala Opening. Forthcoming Exhibitions: Ms. Riggins-Ezzell discussed the exhibitions scheduled for the changing gallery between September 2011 and October The museum s next blockbuster exhibition, scheduled for 2013, is a touring exhibition from the National Archives: Discovering the Civil War, which will also include a companion exhibition curated in-house concerning the Civil War in Tennessee. TSM is also touring a series of exhibitions which it organizes for museums throughout the state. Currently, the museum is in the planning and development phase for an exhibition on the War of Sunset Review: As the DHSMC is nearing the completion of its second year, the commission has its sunset hearing before the Government Operations Sub-Committee on 2

3 Monday, March 21, All commission members are welcome to attend the public meeting. Budget Update: Mary Jane Crockett-Green opened the report stating that all spending is within budget; there are no over-expenditures or concerns regarding spending within the budget codes. All contracts and grants are within budget. A current internal audit of the federal Save America s Treasures grant for re-housing the collection reflects that spending remains on track with its budgeted expenses. To date, the museum has spent $123,000 in federal dollars on the project. Vice Chairman Charles Cook attended the museum s Finance &Administration (F&A) hearing, where the museum submitted the same budget as the previous fiscal year with no request for improvements. The museum s hearing before the House Finance, Ways, & Means Committee is scheduled for Monday, April 11, 2011, at 2:00 p.m. The museum s hearing date before the Senate Finance, Ways, & Means Committee has not been scheduled. F&A Commissioner Mark Emkes has issued the Financial Policy to all state agencies; a copy is included in the commission s meeting packet. The policies are similar to prior years, with the exception of out-of-state travel which must now be approved through the Deputy Governor s office prior to submitting a travel request to Edison and F&A. The policy pertains to all out-of-state travel regardless of the source of funding, which would include allocating travel costs through the Tennessee State Museum Foundation. TSM plans to limit its out-of-state travel and will continue to prioritize such plans in keeping with these guidelines as it did with the previous administration. The State s Human Resources Department has also stated that it will continue its current policy regarding the hiring freeze. However, agencies will be able to make internal movements (promotions, demotions, transfers, and reassignment of duties) as long as the action will have no fiscal impact on the state. Chairman Ashe asked TSM management to keep the commission informed of hearing dates, outcomes, and budget status since the next commission meeting is scheduled for June 13, 2011, after the General Assembly adjourns for the year. Traveling Trunks: Jeff Sellers, TSM education curator, and public programs staff, Ryan Adcock and Debbie Shaw made a presentation about the museum s newly revised traveling trunks program. TSM started the Traveling Trunks more than 25 years ago, which has served as a resource to teachers and their students throughout the Volunteer State since the program s inception. The museum received a federal grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) in the amount of $59,249 in February 2007, which provided TSM with an opportunity to revamp the trunk themes and content to meet the current curriculum needs of teachers. In addition, the new trunks make use of modern media and technology not available at the time of the program s initial development. The staff completed the project in January Through the grant, the museum s public programs staff created 32 activity and artifact trunks corresponding to nine (9) historical eras in Tennessee for teachers to use in their classrooms in 3

4 conjunction with a state history website. Each trunk provides teachers with real and reproduction artifacts, books, music CDs, film DVDs, and other objects to use in their classrooms, in addition to lesson plans. The trunk themes are: The Life and Times of the First Tennesseans; Daily Life on the Tennessee Frontier; Cherokee in Tennessee: Their Life, Culture, and Removal; The Age of Jackson and Tennessee s Legendary Leaders; The Life of a Civil War Soldier; The Lives of Three Tennessee Slaves and Their Journey Towards Freedom; Understanding Women s Suffrage: Tennessee s Perfect 36; Transforming America: Tennessee on the World War II Homefront; The Modern Movement for Civil Rights in Tennessee; and Tennessee: Its Land and People. Since the state s curriculum guidelines require certain grade levels to cover specific historical themes, the staff has targeted the trunk materials for those grade levels. However, the trunks have been structured so that they may be made appropriate for all grade levels. Trunks are available to public schools, private schools, and home schools. As stipulated by the federal funding guidelines of the grant, the trunks are available to schools throughout the U.S., however Tennessee schools are given priority. TSM tries to make the trunks as accessible as possible, so the only expense to schools is cost of return shipping the trunk to the museum. The trunks were first presented at the last Teacher s Workshop. Trunks have also been promoted through a media releases sent to news outlets throughout the state and brochures which have been delivered through the State s Department of Education. Save America s Treasures Grant: Dan Pomeroy, TSM director of collections, presented a report on the Save America s Treasures grant to rehouse the collection. TSM received the $400,000 earmark as part of a federal grant program offered through the National Park Service. Ms. Crockett-Green monitors and tracks the grant expenses. To date, $200,000 of the grant has been spent or committed to project purchases. Items purchased include 10 tall cabinets, 30 small cabinets, and an assortment of storage materials including mylar sleeves, glass, padding, and acid free tissue. The staff has currently rehoused approximately 30,000 artifacts. The program has already reflected positive outcomes for the museum. To ensure that objects were properly repacked and stored appropriately, TSM contracted a conservator to train the staff in proper storage methodologies. The project has also offered opportunities to further research and examine the artifacts as they are pulled, providing new information about the history documented within the collection. The grant contract will close in 1 ½ years. Staff time towards the project is allocated as a grant match. The cost of the conservator for the training is not an eligible expense for matching funds. The TSM had to cut a conservator position many years ago as part of a reduction, but hopes to request the position as an improvement at an appropriate time in the future. Until then, TSM uses contract conservators. Conservators contracted by TSM must be a member of the American Institute of Conservators (AISC), received training through an accredited conservator program, and be a licensed conservator. 4

5 New Business: Evadine McMahan noted that some commission terms and officer terms expire July 1, 2011, requiring a meeting of the nomination committee. The commission discussed the current process and the timeline for a committee meeting while the DHSMC awaits its appointments from the appropriate entities. As a representative from the Attorney General s office, Elizabeth Driver noted that commission by-laws require that the Chair select a nominating committee at the next to last meeting of the fiscal year. Policies all stipulate that members of the nominating committee are not eligible to be elected to a DHSMC officer position. Ms. McMahan volunteered to serve on the nominating committee. Adjournment: Prior to adjourning the meeting, Chairman Ashe noted that the next commission meeting is scheduled Monday, June 13, There being no further new business, Vice Chairman Cook made a motion to adjourn the meeting; Representative Sargent seconded. The Commission approved the motion and the meeting adjourned at 11:20 a.m. Victor H. Ashe, II Chairman, Douglas Henry State Museum Commission Approved and Signed June 20,