Newfields' handling of CEO's exit is 'an unforced error' eroding public trust, experts say
Three months after the sudden and unexplained departure of Colette Pierce Burnette, tension continues between Newfields and community members who are demanding answers.
Nonprofit experts say the museum's lack of communication regarding Burnette's exit will have compounding implications, including an erosion of trust with communities Newfields has promised to build better relationships with, as well as the institution's ability to recruit a new top-tier leader.
Since the Nov. 10 announcement of the former CEO and president's exit, five trustees have resigned, and so have four members of the non-governing, community advocacy-forward Board of Governors.
More: Here are the board members who have left Newfields — and what they've said about it
Members of the public have protested, questioning Newfields' commitment to diversity and inclusion promises made in the wake of a controversial 2021 job description that called to maintain its "traditional, core, white art audience" while diversifying its visitors. And people continue to demand answers on the museum's social media posts.
"What this feels like is an unforced error by Newfields in terms of ... not just the departure of Dr. Burnette but also just ... how they've handled messaging to the communities that Newfields serves," said Levon Williams, co-founder of the consulting firm Rooted in Equity, which specializes in nonprofits.
In response to questions from IndyStar, the museum reiterated its commitment to its 2021 diversity, equity and inclusion action plan; shared ways it engages with people around the city; and invited community dialogue. Newfields has not answered questions about Burnette's or the board members' departures.
As a nonprofit, Newfields is not required to explain internal decisions and disclose documentation in the same way that governmental agencies are. But in situations like these, whether Newfields communicates as frequently and completely as possible will affect its relationship with the public, said Karen Gahl-Mills, professor of practice and director of arts administration programs at Indiana University's O'Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.
"Sometimes institutions forget that the public's not looking at them every day, so for the public, the thing that happened in 2021 sort of happened yesterday. And now the public sees two things," she said, "and this is one where they feel that they can't get the whole story."
What do nonprofits owe the public?
As a nonprofit, Newfields has latitude in choosing what to share publicly. The Board of Trustees is Newfields' governing body, which has official decision-making authority. Legally, the organization is required to share its 990 tax forms, which include income, key employee compensation and expenses.
The board's fiduciary duties, as they're called, also require members to act in the institution's best interest, avoid private benefit transactions and follow the law and bylaws, said Beth Gazley, a professor at IU's O'Neill School. The duties can include actions needed for an organization's viability, like hiring, programming and public communications, she said. But nonprofits don't have a legal obligation to hold public meetings or report internal details.
"The public's never going to get all their questions answered," Gazley said. "These are private institutions. They're much more like businesses than they are governmental institutions."
In a Nov. 10 news release, the institution thanked Burnette for her work and announced Michael Kubacki as interim CEO and president. On Nov. 21, two days after a public protest, the Board of Trustees released a statement that said it was unable to say more about the leadership transition but remained committed to its promises to be inclusive.
"Newfields is focused on our mission, vision, values, strategies, and planned programming," Jonathan Berger, vice president of marketing and external affairs, wrote in an email response this week to IndyStar. "We remain 100% committed to the initiatives laid out in the board’s 2021 DEIA Action Plan and existing strategic plan, which set us on our current path and continue to guide our work."
A spokesperson noted that Newfields does not discuss internal employment matters. Neither Board of Trustees Chair Darrianne Christian nor interim CEO Michael Kubacki has given an interview to IndyStar since Burnette's exit.
When reached by IndyStar, Burnette has declined to comment as well.
Trustee resignations appear to point to disagreement
Departed trustees have either not responded or declined an interview when contacted by IndyStar. But a public statement and two leaked resignation emails offer a few rays of insight.
Martin University President Sean Huddleston tied his decision to Burnette's "untimely departure" in a Dec. 7 statement, saying he would spend time continuing efforts at Martin "to help people see themselves in a space that they didn’t know was for them, accepting of them, and supportive of their interests."
New Martin University board members: Former Newfields CEO Colette Pierce Burnette has been elected to university's board
The Indianapolis Business Journal published a resignation email sent the morning of Nov. 10 by former trustee Gary Hirschberg. He confirmed its contents to IndyStar but referred all questions to Newfields.
“It is with great disappointment that recent events have forced my decision to tender my resignation from the board and as the chair of the finance committee,” Hirschberg wrote. “I do not believe I am able to serve any further in a fiduciary capacity that is up to the standards held by me personally and required by the state of Indiana in either role given the direction forced on us yesterday.”
The Indianapolis Recorder published a Nov. 17 resignation letter by former trustee Adrienne Sims, the chief human resources officer for Indiana University Health and member of the board's HR committee. Sims declined to comment further to IndyStar via an IU Health spokesperson.
“As a seasoned HR executive, I believe in the importance of strong HR practices, collaborative decision-making and adherence to proper governance procedures for the well-being of the organization," Sims wrote, according to the Recorder. "Recent leadership decisions were not made in an inclusive and consultative manner, which has been disheartening.
The emails bring up many questions, including details about the process and events leading up to leadership decisions — which could include Burnette's departure — and what was described as a "forced" direction.
Past events have had a ripple effect on Newfields' public perception
Community members also have expressed frustration stemming from a series of controversial events.
In the summer of 2020, before the 2021 museum director job post controversy, Kelli Morgan, the former associate curator of American art who was recruited to promote more culturally diverse galleries, resigned, saying Newfields' environment fails people of color.
Read our 2020 reporting: Curator calls Newfields culture toxic, discriminatory in resignation letter
Because of incidents like that, Jared Thompson — a saxophonist, bandleader, composer and artist advocate — said he made a personal decision several years ago not to perform at or visit Newfields.
"For me, it was just a way of saying I'm going to put them on the back burner for a while and watch what they do. And then every two years, I see that they are doing the same thing over and over again," Thompson said. "So it just let me know that there's no need to put them on any burner."
While diversity, equity and inclusion work is often not linear, the unexplained exit feels like it takes the wind out of the sails of Newfields' progress, Williams said.
In May 2021, Christian became the first Black woman to become Board of Trustees chair. In August 2022, Burnette began at Newfields, becoming the first Black woman to serve as its CEO. The museum hired Belinda Tate, also a Black woman, as the first person to be museum director since the executive structure was reformed in early 2021. She began her tenure in November.
For its part, Newfields says it has made progress on the action plan it instituted in the wake of the 2021 controversy. Over the past three years, the museum has acquired more than $2.4 million in art by Black, Indigenous and artists of color, Berger, the museum's vice president of marketing and external affairs, wrote to IndyStar.
The institution also has hired community engagement team members to attend neighborhood association meetings, and its neighborhood membership program includes almost 1,500 households, he wrote. Complimentary admission from the program saw an attendance increase from 145 Harvest Nights tickets to 642 from 2022-23, according to Berger.
How experts say Newfields can balance personnel issues and keeping trust
Burnette's hire helped build trust in the Black community, said Marshawn Wolley, the policy director and spokesperson for the African American Coalition of Indianapolis. Burnette received the Breaking Barriers Award from the Indiana Minority Business Magazine’s and Minority Business Review's Champions of Diversity for her work at the museum.
Newfields reached out after Burnette's exit but shared the same message as it did publicly, Wolley said.
"Right now, we're still in the same spot where we're hurt, angry, frustrated and concerned about what's happening, and we're not seeing action," said Wolley, who echoed sentiments expressed in a statement from the African American Coalition and 18 Black organizations in November.
Just because a nonprofit isn't legally required to release more information doesn't mean it shouldn't, experts say. Since the public supports the institution with tickets and trust, they have a moral claim and that invites Newfields to practice more transparency, Gazley said.
Crisis communications come into play in these types of situations, Gahl-Mills said, and organizations can strike a balance between not disclosing personnel issues while communicating as fully as they can first, fast, as completely as possible and consistently. (Gahl-Mills is the second cousin of Chris Gahl, a former Board of Governors member who resigned in December.)
"I imagine there's negotiation happening around what it's OK to say and what it's not OK to say. The message that the public is receiving is that 'Legally, we don't even have to do this. Don't ask us,'" Williams said. "That doesn't foster trust."
Newfields' new CEO search and looking to the future
Community members say the next move is up to Newfields.
"They violated the trust, and so now they have to figure out how to rebuild it," Wolley said.
Thompson said the events over the past few years have left him without optimism that the museum will undergo deep change.
"I'm not saying that there isn't a place for redemption, but they don't seem interested in it," Thompson said.
Questions surround the process to select a new CEO and president as well. The details around the search are being finalized, and the institution will share information when it's available, Berger wrote.
"At the end of the day when you look at it, it's almost: What answer are they looking for (in a leader)?" said TyJuan Garrett, a member and former vice president of the Greater Indianapolis branch of the NAACP.
Any potential candidates will want to know whether they have board support, Gahl-Mills said. Given past few years' events, recruiting candidates — and especially those of color — will require time and intentional pursuit, Williams said.
"It's just going to be tough in the same way I imagine it was tough for Dr. Burnette coming in following everything that happened with Kelli Morgan," Williams said. "You have to want to help."
Moving forward, Garrett said the museum will need to present a clearer vision beyond the 2021 plan.
"The ultimate thing (is) that the vision is laid out clearly on all parts — from the board and what they see the vision as and how that leader that they're going to select is going to execute on that vision and what they have input in," Garrett said. "So that's what the community holds the museum to: the vision."
Contact IndyStar reporter Domenica Bongiovanni at 317-444-7339 or d.bongiovanni@indystar.com. Follow her on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter: @domenicareports.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Newfields' public handling of CEO's exit erodes trust, experts say
