Arkansas Arts Center's trustees discuss opening; Little Rock museum still without director

The Arkansas Arts Center's board of trustees met privately Monday to discuss an employment matter -- its permanent executive director position has been vacant since August -- but did not hire anyone or take other action upon reconvening in public.

Former Executive Director Todd Herman left the $210,000-per-year position to take a new job in North Carolina. Herman's departure created a leadership opening at the Arts Center, which in less than a year will break ground on an estimated $98.8 million public-private project to overhaul the downtown Little Rock museum.

Laine Harber, the Arts Center's chief financial officer and deputy director of operations, has led the museum on an interim basis since Herman left. Harber has repeatedly said he does not want the permanent job.

The board talked in a closed meeting for roughly 20 minutes near the end of a regularly scheduled public meeting. Before going into executive session, board president Merritt Dyke said trustees would "consider the employment of a person for a position with the Arkansas Arts Center."

The Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, which governs open meetings, allows executive sessions for "the purpose of considering employment" and other specific personnel matters.

Trustees are responsible for hiring the museum's executive director, to whom other staff members report.

Dyke declined to say after the meeting whether the position being discussed was executive director.

Asked whether the board was actively looking for a full-time director or had convened a search committee, he said, "We're working on it."

A new executive director would wield little influence over the ongoing expansion plans, which have been in the works since 2015. Officials revealed a high-level concept design in February, and a more detailed design is scheduled to be finished within the next couple of months. Construction is on track to start in October.

Fundraising will remain a pressing issue. Officials have estimated they need more than $60 million in private money -- alongside the $31.2 million in hotel-tax revenue bonds they received -- in order to pay for the project.

Harber and Dyke are finalizing plans for locating the museum's staff and some programs during more than two years of construction. Harber said the Arts Center plans to retain all staff members, meaning the museum will continue to rely on money from donors, members and programs in order to make ends meet.

Four job vacancies were advertised on the Arts Center's website on Monday, none for the executive director position. Those jobs, including a grants coordinator and human resources coordinator, traditionally answer to the director, not the board of trustees.

Little Rock City Attorney Tom Carpenter said Monday he's not sure whether the museum would be required to publicly advertise the director's position. Stacey Witherell, the city's human resources director, did not respond to a message left at her office.

City Hall owns the Arts Center building in MacArthur Park and pays $700,000 each year toward maintaining it. The city board appoints the museum's trustees, and the director's salary has been traditionally paid from the Arts Center's budget.

The nonprofit Arkansas Arts Center Foundation owns the artwork and controls an endowment from which it issues grants to cover day-to-day operating costs. The museum also collects money from exhibition sponsors, direct private donations and program fees.

The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette in an open-records request filed Monday afternoon sought any contracts with a search firm retained to find a new director, any job candidate application materials and for any records related to a posting advertising the job.

Dyke, who responded on behalf of the Arts Center, said he had no responsive records.

The newspaper filed a similar request with Bobby Tucker, board chairman of the Arkansas Arts Center Foundation. Tucker did not immediately respond to the request.

Metro on 01/15/2019

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