Good morning,
I am reaching out to you to see if you are following and/or interested in the status of the current effort by Salisbury University to close the Ward Museum on Schumaker Pond and distribute the contents between the Nabb Center for Research on Delmarva History and Culture and an as yet unrenovated space on Main Street in downtown Salisbury at the Powell building owned by Gillis Gilkerson.
I am a native of Salisbury, Maryland now living in Delmar, Maryland. I have worked (taught) at Salisbury University in the past as a visiting professor of economics, and have been a modest financial contributor to the Ward Museum. When I first learned of the HVAC failure at the Ward Museum last July, I was taken aback to hear that it was being characterized as a “catastrophic failure”, and from which ensued public estimates for repairs between $3,000,000 and $5,000,000. I then learned from reputable sources that the HVAC failure was quickly fixed by the installation of a boiler igniter switch that caused the HVAC failure. I have been told that the HVAC system was quickly repaired within a few days and has been working ever since.
Under Salisbury University ownership since and agreement between the University System of Maryland and the Ward Foundation in 1990, the University ordered the closing of the galleries while leaving open the possibility of occasional public exhibits in other parts of the museum. In the meantime, 500 decoys were cleaned by staff, of which 6 were found to contain the mold that had ensued right after the HVAC failure. Those decoys have since been transferred to the Nabb Center at Salisbury University.
The Ward Museum hired an outside consultant (who does not do repair word) to provide an idea of what it would take to upgrade the HVAC and to replace the now 30-year old boiler that should soon be replaced. The estimate came to an approximately $275,000, a substantially smaller number than that $3 to $5 milion SU announcement.
To this, the Ward Museum’s total 38,000 square feet contains some 14,000 square feet of display space. Were the downtown renovation to proceed, it has been estimated to cost between $700,000 and $900,000, resulting in total space of 5,000 square feet of which only 1,500 square feet would be available for wildfowl carving displays. Taken together, the University is facing a potential expenditure of several million dollars for one-tenth of the display space at the Ward Museum on Schumaker Pond, which just does not make sense.
It has been on that basis that a group of us have begun efforts to raise awareness of the potential closing of the Ward Museum and to encourage a viable solution that could keep the Ward Museum intact at its present location while preserving the positive reputation of the University as a community engaged partner.
In this effort, I began a petition, “Save the Ward Museum at Schumaker Pond, Salisbury, Maryland”. As of this morning, it has gathered over 3,000 signatures. In addition, the Wicomico County Council will be hosting Eli Modlin, VP for Community Engagement of SU to address concerns at its April 4 meeting. Our informal group, Friends of the Ward Museum at Schumaker Pond, Salisbury, Maryland anticipates a delegation to speak that is expected to include Norm Conway and Martha Graham as principal speakers, to which I may be available. We are hoping for a large turnout at this meeting to help elected officials realize the extent to which the Ward Museum is an iconic institution with a national reputation and which needs to be preserved at its present location.
The website of the petition is:
What the author neglects to address:
If there is mold on the displays, there is mold in the building that now need to be mitigated. A health hazard to all that enter the building: staff and visitors. And this is an expensive mitigation process. Depending on the severity and depth of the problem, walls have to be ripped out and replaced.
Less than half of the buildings space is used for displays. The remaining wasted space is costly to maintain, heat and cool.
Another mis-informed commentor on another thread, mentioned that the museum was a “gift” to SU.
What they neglected to mention was the 1.8? million dollars in debt, SU absorbed with this “gift”.
Tax returns indicate that the museum can not financially support itself, even with all the free grant money they receive. They are still operating at a deficit.
Bets are, most of these people crying to save this albatross have not visited this place in decades.
You can’t spell SUCKS without SU!
I suspect that what’s really going on is that SU in deeper financial trouble then they are letting on. Student enrollment is down, and not likely to come back. The economy is in shambles. SU over extended herself by buying every property in sight on east campus. Salisbury IS going to ditch the Ward Museum, just like they ARE going to ditch the public radio station as well, I’m guessing. They simply cannot afford such boondoggles.
What is the ward museum? Is that a thing? (Sarcasm)
If SU is involved, it will be a disaster. Norm Conway? There was a time where the saying “There’s the wrong way and the Conway” was a very real reality. Nowadays, not at all and I think he’s actually a liability at this point.
I’m going to get some popcorn and watch the show.
Have fun
Sounds like the author needs to up his “modest” financial contributions.
Make it a RESTAURANT !!!
Close the thing down and let Crisfield open their own Ward museum. That’s where they are from. Just another display of a huge budget, a bunch of woke programming and the core mission gets completely neglected and screwed up.
All public, federal, state programs are doomed to fail because nobody has a personal stake in them. Costs go over budget? Who cares, we’ll just raise more money (taxes). Things are breaking down? We might try to get to it someday, and by then it’ll cost a lot more. But it’s not my problem and it’s not my money. The proof is in the pudding. If The Ward Museum is such a great thing then I’m sure it can support itself. Or not.
Who cares about a bunch of carved wooden ducks? Much better things to do with that money.
I could care less.
Let the free market decide and let it die!
I have no interest as a taxpayer in paying for this mismanagement!
Have a fundraiser for those who are interested and fix the problem.
If not, close the Museum down and demolish the building.
Hell with them!
From The Baltimore Sun, February 2, 1996 (look it up)
“Yet for all it has to offer, the Ward Museum has struggled almost since opening, beset by financial problems, changing directors four times in three years.”
“The last one to leave, William F. Brooks, a former local banker and folk art specialist, resigned last fall after only a month, saying the museum’s board was not leveling with people about the scope of the problems.”
The harsh reality is the Ward Museum has been an expensive money loser from its beginning. Created by a bunch of “feel good” artists with absolutely no idea how to run a business.
If you want someone to talk with about how SU obtained the award Museum, all you need to talk with is Salisbury Attorney, Fulton Jeffers. In 2000, we was the guy who orchestrated the SU takeover of the Ward Museum. Don’t believe me? The Salisbury Independent did a well written ,February 27, 2023, article on how the SU takeover of the Ward Museum transpired.
Sorry, but the Ward Museum was a loser from the beginning.
GILLKERSON is one of the HOMEBOYS that owns any land that he wants and the CITY / COUNTY allows him to get it at a ridiculous price. GILLKERSON AND CO. probably knows something or wants it to build something and claim waterfront property. WHY DOES THE HIISTORICAL SOCIETY TAKE IT OVER, since it supposedly has articles of the SHORE or historical articles of the SHORE SU could care less. The NABB CENTER is not that great
So True
Look- SU being a bunch of academics, is the reason this thing doesn’t work. Non of them know how to run a business. The supposed Perude school is so good- why don’t those kids run the place or manage it and get some real world experience?
I knew Gillis/Gilkerson would be involved. Where there is money to be made by pawning off some property to the city, you will find that bunch.
Big rent money for Powell Building 1st floor going to the Gillis coffers
while preserving the positive reputation of the University as a community engaged partner?
What a crock of shit!
time for the taxpayer to get fleeced again by these sorry ass liberal pos’s!
BOHICA!
I went there once….It was closed.
Maybe they can turn it into a Harriet Tubman Museum of some sort and then millions of grant money will fall from the sky.
Let it sink. The average man and woman living in Wicomico County are struggling to provide for themselves and their families due to government failure and waste. They have no interest in whether the Ward Museum or Salisbury University exist.