Regional Report / EXPOSITION PARK : New Museum Director Says Raising Money Is a Priority

Dinosaur exhibits and a saber-toothed cat logo once drew the most attention at Los Angeles County’s Natural History Museum. But recent turmoil among the staff and the appointment of a new executive director have become the focus of recent public attention.

Last week, museum officials announced that James Lawrence Powell will replace Craig C. Black as head of the 80-year-old institution, effective July 1. Powell, executive director of the Franklin Institute of Philadelphia, will inherit a museum plagued by internal turmoil and a budget that has been whittled from about $14 million to $9 million by the county.

Richard S. Volpert, chairman of the museum’s foundation, said Powell’s appointment reflected the need to improve morale at the museum as well as increase financial support for the facility.

Volpert said Powell’s expertise as a fund-raiser and his academic credentials would help attract money and enhance the museum’s reputation. “He’s a very experienced person. Just look at his resume,” Volpert said.

In a telephone interview from his home in Philadelphia, Powell agreed that fund raising must be a priority.

“I know that one of the reasons the board hired me is because of my fund-raising skills, and I enjoy doing it and have a good track record,” he said.

Powell, a geologist, currently serves on the National Science Board. Before coming to the Franklin Institute in 1991, he was president of Reed College in Portland, Ore. He served as president of Franklin and Marshall College in Lancaster, Pa., from 1983 until 1988.

Powell helped raise almost $9 million in less than two years and helped reorganize management of the Franklin Institute’s staff, said Franklin Institute executive director Joseph Moore.

The appointment marks the end of an 11-month search to replace Black, whose 12-year tenure as museum’s executive director recently came under fire and led the County Board of Supervisors to order an audit of the Exposition Park museum last year. The report prepared by the county auditor-controller’s office found museum managers had violated Civil Service rules during a recent round of layoffs and failed to maintain an adequate inventory of the museum’s collection.

In addition, the report found that Black used county employees to remodel his Hancock Park home and said the county had not been fully reimbursed by the museum foundation for the work. He was cleared of any serious wrongdoing.

Black announced his retirement a few days before the report was issued. He declined to comment last week.

A private firm searched nationwide for a replacement. Powell was selected from four finalists.