Petition seeks to overturn Ward Museum decision

By Liz Holland
Posted 3/25/23

A decision last week by Salisbury University to end its affiliation with the Ward Foundation, came as a surprise to foundation members who believed they were still in discussions with SU staff about …

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Petition seeks to overturn Ward Museum decision

Posted

A decision last week by Salisbury University to end its affiliation with the Ward Foundation, came as a surprise to foundation members who believed they were still in discussions with SU staff about relocating the collection of the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art. 

“The Ward Foundation’s counsel proposed a joint project with SU’s business school to develop a business plan whereby the museum and its programs could transition and continue to operate, financially independent of SU,” according to a Ward Foundation news release. 

But effective July 1, SU will no longer maintain an operating agreement with the Ward Foundation to act as an affiliated foundation of the university.

The museum will move from its location at Schumaker Pond to the Powell Building at 218 West Main St., next to Salisbury University Downtown.

University officials cited serious financial concerns as their reason for the changes.

As of June 30, 2022, an independent audit showed a significant decrease in net cash flows and an increase in the line of credit balances. “These issues combined create substantial doubt about the foundation’s ability to continue as a going concern,” the auditors said.

While SU assumed $1.6 million of debt in 2003, the university also acquired title to a recently built museum and an art collection worth several million dollars.

Additionally, the John A. Luetkemeyer Sr. and Thomas F. Mullan Jr. Legacy Center addition to the museum was added in 2018 with SU funding 20 percent of the cost, with Ward Foundation contributors providing the remaining 80 percent.

“Over the years, SU has subsidized a portion of the Ward Museum’s operations, but the amount claimed by SU seems high and includes annual payments that were pledged by SU as part of the 2003 transaction transferring ownership of the museum and collection,” foundation officials said.

Meanwhile, an online petition to maintain the museum at its Schumaker Pond location had surpassed 4,100 signatures as of Friday.

“It is a measure of how much the current course of action is misplaced,” said Phillip LeBel, who launched the Change.org petition last week and is organizing a group of supporters to speak at the April 4 meeting to the Wicomico County Council.

The Ward Foundation became an affiliated foundation of SU in 2000, with the university taking ownership of the building, the collection and the Ward Foundation’s debt of approximately $1.6 million.

“To date, SU has given more than $10 million in support to the Ward Foundation, along with in-kind services, in return for the foundation’s stewardship of the University’s collection, valued at some $7.2 million,” SU Provost Karen Olmstead said in an email. “The decision to take over management of the Ward Museum’s operations was not taken lightly and reflects our commitment to allowing access to the important cultural heritage and environmental education that the Ward provides while managing expenses within what is sustainable on an annual basis.”

This new location, in the heart of Salisbury’s Downtown, will be more accessible and connected to the community, and will present opportunities for new partnerships and programs, university officials said in the news release.

Items from the collection will be displayed on a rotating basis, as they were at the Schumaker Pond building. When not on exhibit, items will be cared for in climate-controlled storage at SU’s Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture and other off-site locations. The university does not intend to divest any core pieces of the collection.

Donors who currently have items on loan at the museum have been contacted to assure them that their artworks and artifacts are being properly cared for and provide the opportunity for those items to be returned if desired.

In addition to galleries, the new location will include open space to allow the continuation of educational activities that are central to the mission of SU.

The university has no long-term plans for the Schumaker Pond building.

The HVAC system that serves other parts of the facility beyond the gallery spaces was not impacted by the HVAC system failure, and operations have continued in areas of the building available for educational activities and private rentals.

Classes and other educational sessions will continue at the Schumaker Pond building until the Powell Building is open.

In spite of the many changes, the Ward Foundation is still hosting the Ward World Championship Wildfowl Carving Competition in Ocean City at the Convention Center on April 21 through April 23. The future of the Ward Foundation after that will be determined by its board and stakeholders.

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