Ellen V. Futter informed the board that she would step down next March after 30 years as president of the American Museum of Natural History.
Futter said in a phone interview that he was proud and appreciative of his time. The opening of the Gilder Center is a good time for the museum to have a new leader.
The board will start searching for Futter's replacement. The chairman of the museum said that they are huge shoes to fill. She leaves us with a good chance of finding a great person.
Given the emphasis on diversity in the museum world, an outside executive search firm will be instructed to bring us a diverse slate of candidates.
The position will require an experienced steward of stature since the museum has an operating budget of $178 million and more than 1,000 full and part time staffers.
He said that they wanted someone who was a great leader, collaborative, and an effective liaison with the City of New York. We need someone who is a strong fund-raiser because we can't do all the things we want to do without it. It is a lot of work.
Futter has been in charge of the museum for the last three decades and it seems like it is frozen in time. The museum's slowness to evolve, particularly in a world now sensitive to cultural stereotypes and inaccuracies, is a symbol of the institution's slowness to adapt. The scenes were changed in the year 2019. The Northwest Coast Hall reopened last month with a renewed focus on Indigenous people.
The new Rose Center for Earth and Space opened in 2000 and is one of the major developments of the museum.
Futter had to deal with a lot of city politics. The Rose Center for Earth and Space was considered sacrilege by some residents due to its glass dome. Critics and the community welcomed it.
The architect Herbert Mus said, "Here is that rare instance where a time, a place, a function, an architect and a client come together to create an intelligent design that will appeal to broad public taste." It's like finding a new world.
The Gilder Center was to be built in the Theodore Roosevelt Park, but a group of people objected to it. The museum decided to take down three of its buildings in order to make room for the six-story addition. The stone and glass addition is almost done.
The president of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden said that he was impressed by Futter's ability to balance town-gown tensions without imperiousness. She made it clear that the park was owned by the City of New York.
The statue of Theodore Roosevelt on horseback and flanked by a Native American man and an African man was to come down in 2020. The decision was made by the museum and the city after years of opposition from activists.
There were traumatic world events that took a financial toll on cultural institutions.
The museum has an important role to play in educating about climate change. The Richard Gilder Graduate School has offered a PhD in comparative biology since 2008.
Half of the public-school teachers in New York City are graduates of the master's program in earth science, according to the museum.
Protests against one of the museum's board members tested the integrity of the museum's stance on science. As an influential member of Donald J. Trump's transition team, she used her family's millions to fund organizations that questioned climate change.
Scientists and other academics pressured him to step down.
Futter was the youngest person to hold the presidency of a major American college when she took over at 29 years old. She was the first woman to head a major New York City based museum.
Futter has managed to lead the institution without fireworks or showmanship. She has largely avoided controversy, for example, 2010, when it was revealed that she lived rent-free in a $5 million East Side apartment that the museum bought when she started.
Futter might be criticized for doing too little too slowly. She moved the museum forward as quickly as possible.
There are millions of children who have gone on class trips and stared at animals. Benepe made a statement. The taxidermied animals were an important part of the museum's history and they liked coming to see them. Ellen understood the need to maintain certain things that are completely associated with the museum in people's minds, as well as the need to update and deal with social issues.
Futter said that she was aware of having to strike a balance between preserving the past and preparing for the future. She said that people would tell her that it was their favorite place when she first arrived. It is their favorite place, but things have changed. The mission of science and education is not essential.
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