Museum Officials Reject Accusations : Dispute: Executives hold press conference to express shock at board president’s resignation, dispute her claims.

Officials of the Bowers Museum on Wednesday rejected accusations by board President Judy Fluor-Runels, who resigned unexpectedly on Tuesday, citing the museum’s mishandling of her parents’ $111,000 donation.

The officials also said they were shocked by Fluor-Runels’ resignation, because she had met with them earlier on Tuesday to discuss related matters, and all seemed well.

Fluor-Runels has claimed that the museum has failed to honor the terms of the 1991 gift from Si and Gloria Fluor. She has said that the gallery named after them was specifically intended to be a permanent display of materials relating to the citrus industry in Orange County, and that it was “mysteriously” moved upstairs from its planned location on the museum’s first floor.

She also has claimed the “impact” of the citrus theme would “necessarily be reduced” by the addition of a children’s learning center in the middle of the gallery--a new project proposed by the museum last month. She claimed a letter to her mother last month asked for an additional $50,000 donation for the learning center, and specified that if she declined, another donor would be sought.

At a press conference Wednesday, executive committee members said the citrus exhibit was moved because the ceiling of the downstairs gallery had to be dropped to make room for duct work, making it difficult to project citrus history-related slides on the wall.

Museum Director Peter Keller said he wrote Gloria Fluor to assure her that the addition of the learning center “would not change the exhibitions or their content,” he said. “I wanted to make the offer to her first.”

Committee members said the museum has not received any further communication from Gloria Fluor, who appeared pleased with the gallery when she toured it at the reopening of the museum.

Fluor-Runels was unavailable Wednesday evening for comment.

The officials also said that, according to museum guidelines drafted in 1991, donors may not specify the content of galleries that bear their names.

Board Treasurer Harriet Harris she had met with Fluor-Runels “a number of times during the past month” about the donation issue. The upshot, Harris said, was a letter written to the Fluor family that promised no additional exhibitions would be added to the gallery “until the matter is totally resolved by . . . the donor recognition committee.”

At present, Keller said, there are no plans to proceed with the installation of a learning center anywhere in the museum.

Fluor-Runels also charged that the board “is no longer in on the decision making” at the museum and has voted in bylaw changes proposed by Keller “without thinking of the consequences.”

On the contrary, said board Chairman Arthur Strock, “the board tells staff what to do. The policies she discusses were initiated and ratified by board, not staff. . . . The board are not people who twiddle their thumbs and say, ‘Yes, sir.’ ”

Committee members also pointed out that Fluor-Runels herself was on the executive committee that voted to change board meetings from monthly to every other month--one of the rulings she is protesting.

The officials said Fluor-Runels had met with them earlier Tuesday to discuss establishing a committee on donation policies as well as a new role for the executive committee in resolving trustee conflicts.

“She said, ‘Fine, let’s finalize it at the next executive committee meeting,’ ” Ruth Seigle, vice president of public programming, recalled. “. . . We thought we had it resolved.”