President;
The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History

Background

The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, located in Detroit, Michigan, is dedicated to the documentation and preservation of the history, heritage, and culture of people of African descent from an African American perspective. The vision of the Museum is to be recognized as the institution of choice for exploring and presenting African American history and culture. The Museum's mission is to exist to serve metropolitan Detroit and national and international communities through exceptional learning opportunities, exhibitions, programs, and events, based on outstanding collections and research that explore the diversity of African American history and culture.

The Museum was founded in 1965 by Dr. Charles H. Wright, a Detroit area physician, who was inspired to build a museum dedicated to the African American experience after visiting a memorial to Danish World War II heroes in Denmark. Dr. Wright's overseas excursion led him to envision a museum where people, especially school children, become aware of the significant role that African Americans have played in world events. The museum, called the International Afro-American Museum, opened in the basement of his home and office on West Grand Boulevard with dozens of exhibits, showcasing such items as African masks from Nigeria and Ghana and the inventions of Elijah McCoy among many other noteworthy items.

The Afro-American Museum and the City of Detroit formed a partnership in 1985 to build a new facility in the city's University Cultural Center, eventually completed in 1987. The University Cultural Center also includes the city's historical museum, a major national art institute, Michigan's major urban multi-university, Wayne State, a science center, a Center for Creative Arts, along with a major international institute, and other cultural institutions.

Two years later, the City of Detroit assumed responsibility for the administration of the Museum. By 1990, the Museum had again outgrown its quarters and planning began for a larger facility. Detroit voters in 1992 approved a sale of bonds to finance a larger museum and eventually approved an additional bond in 1996 to complete the Museum. Finally, in 1997, the Museum took possession of its present 120,000 square foot facility in the Cultural Center. This facility houses a permanent collection of 30,000 artifacts and archival materials and features an architecturally acclaimed 100-foot glass domed rotunda, five exhibition areas, the Louise Lovett Wright Research Library, the 317-seat General Motors Theater, the Lewis Latimer Café, an outdoor courtyard, and a museum store offering authentic African and African American art, books, and other merchandise. When the expansive new state-of-the-art Museum opened on its present site in 1997, it went from an annual budget of about $1.6 million to $7.8 million. That year, more than 500,000 people visited the Museum. A year later, it was formally rededicated and renamed the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History. Today, the Museum is the world's largest institution dedicated to the African American experience.

Current Situation

 The Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History is governed by a 23-member Board of Directors. This Board of prominent local citizens is headed by a Chairman and a Vice-Chairman. The President oversees the day-to-day operations of the institution with a deep sense of passion for the Museum, communicating this passion to the staff and reporting directly to the Board Chairman. New members of the Board of Directors typically are identified and recommended by a nominating committee of the Board and then appointed by the Mayor of Detroit. The President oversees a staff of 63 full-time and part-time positions. The President, the Chief Operating Officer, the Chief Financial Officer and Chief Development Officer comprise the executive staff. There are nine senior staff members in the areas of education & public programming, development, research & exhibitions, major gifts, sales & retail operations, building & safety, and public relations & marketing.

The Museum has a current annual operating budget of $6.5 million, and has yet to establish a substantial endowment. The City of Detroit has historically provided the Museum a management fee of $1.0 to $1.8 million, but those funds are not guaranteed. The remaining budget must be raised by the Museum. Three and a half years into a five-year legacy campaign the Museum has raised 80% of its goal of $43 million. A deficit of $2 million incurred in 1999 has been reduced to $700,000. For the second consecutive year the operating fund experienced a surplus of $200,000 in the fiscal year ending June 30, 2005. The Museum has also increased membership from 3,500 to over 13,000 in the past two years and has a goal of 20,000 members by June 30, 2006. Since the Museum does not have any regularly recurring revenue streams, as do some other Detroit cultural institutions, due in part to its incredible growth over the last decade, a major focus of the new President will be to solidify the infrastructure and the operations of the Museum through creating a secure funding platform, and a better marketing and improved delivery system for services and obtaining wider community support.

In November 2004, the Museum opened a new semi-permanent core exhibition "And Still We Rise: Our Journey through African American History and Culture." This 22,000 square foot exhibition, valued at $12 million, contains more than 20 galleries; allowing patrons to experience the odyssey of African Americans from their ancestral homes in Africa beginning more than 3.5 million years ago and ending in modern day Detroit.

In late 2004, the Board of Directors and the senior staff of the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History undertook the development of a three-year strategic plan covering the period from July 2005 through June 2008. This plan was approved by the Board in March 2005. The staff in partnership with the Board of Directors and other stakeholders identified four key strategic issues for improving the Museum's profile: (1) increase revenue to support current operations, eliminate the remaining debt, and build an endowment fund; (2) enhance the Museum's planning process by improving long-term planning of exhibitions, programs, fundraisers, and other activities and communicating those plans to the entire staff and other constituencies; (3) increase staff competencies through an ongoing professional development process and utilizing a consistent staff performance measurement system; (4) improve development and marketing of museum products and services that provide customer satisfaction; and (5) relate positively to the Detroit community and be a responsible citizen. Staff members were assigned specific tasks and targets for ensuring the success of these plans. The new President will be expected to coordinate the work of the staff in order to reach the established targets set forth in this plan and to offer suggestions to the Board for improvements to the plan.

 Specific Role

 Exhibiting a contagious passion for African American history, the President is responsible for leading and achieving the Museum's vision through sound leadership and management. Working in collaboration with the executive management team, the new President supports a focused mission that establishes a shared partnership with the citizens of Detroit in the preservation of African American history and culture. The President manages the overall operations of the Museum and maintains educational and liaison programs which supports the Museum's mission and goals. The President coordinates the activities of the Museum staff and plans, implements, and monitors policies to achieve the Museum's objectives. The President promotes staff development, diversity, and equal employment opportunity objectives.

The President is the principal catalyst for the development of public support of the Museum. This official engages and collaborates with private citizens, members of religious institutions, public officials, scholars, and business leaders, both locally and nationally. The President leads efforts in developing the Museum's membership. The President ensures the fiscal health of the Museum by building a stable base of financial support within existing donor communities and developing untapped revenue streams. The President implements comprehensive resource development programs that target all appropriate components of private and public sector funding and establishes appropriate mechanisms to report and measure their success.

The President oversees and coordinates the programs and activities of the Museum. The President works closely with the staff to ensure that programs and exhibits are innovative and stimulate interest to the widest possible audience. The President develops joint programs in cooperation with civic and community organizations, colleges and universities, city, county and state agencies, and other museums and cultural institutions, and provides expert advice and consultation to civic and community leaders, museum professionals, and scholars. The President keeps abreast of developments in museology and the use of cutting-edge information technology to engage communities and schools.

 Major Objectives