Sales Lead to Museum Shake-Up

The director and all 16 trustees of a Southwest history museum resigned under pressure over the selling of museum artifacts to cover a $1-million deficit.

Denise Colton, whose grandfather founded the museum 75 years ago as a repository for Southwestern art, Indian artifacts and prehistoric objects, said she hoped the resignations would give the Museum of Northern Arizona “a chance to regain its heritage and its mission.”

The museum’s leadership came under fire after 21 of the museum’s artifacts were sold to raise operating money, its geology department was closed and paleontologist David Gillette and his research staff were fired.

Director Robert Baughman told members in June that the sale was necessary because the museum was so broke it had funds for only three weeks of operation.

Longtime museum donor Cynthia Perin, outraged over the sale, filed a complaint with the American Assn. of Museums. The collection, including paintings and Navajo weavings, was dispersed across the country with a Chicago museum, a California art gallery and several private collectors purchasing various items, the complaint said.

Baughman, the museum’s third director in three years, and the board said in a news release announcing their resignations Friday that they hoped their departure would “restore confidence.” The museum nearly closed in March 2002 because of financial problems.

The resignations followed a letter from a group of benefactors who threatened administrative or legal action or a confidence vote if the leadership didn’t step down, the Arizona Daily Sun reported Saturday.

The director and board members will leave at the end of July during the museum’s annual meeting. The new trustees are to be selected during that meeting, and four of the resigning trustees plan to run again.