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What's going on at the museum?
NEWS-TIMES
EREN TATARAGASI
BEAUFORT — Museum directors changed in July, an inappropriate artifact exchange was conducted in May and now the new director has reportedly told his staff not to speak to The News-Times.
So what’s really going on at the N.C. Maritime Museum?
To find out as much as possible, The News-Times requested copies of e-mails among several employees of the state Department of Cultural Resources (DCR), parent agency for the museum, along with explanations regarding its collections policy and job description of the former museum director Dr. David Nateman.
When asked by DCR Public Relations Director Maryanne Friend for any e-mails he had, new maritime museum Director Joe Schwarzer wrote to DCR Deputy Secretary Staci Meyer, “I went through my computer yesterday (Tuesday) and sent everything I had to Maryanne. It is unfortunate we have to spend time on this but maybe this will exhaust the subject.”
Mrs. Friend seemed more cooperative and saw the importance of releasing information. She told The News-Times, “The DCR’s interest is in making sure the public has factual information. We feel we have a great story at that museum.”
Since the DCR recently demoted Dr. Nateman as director of the maritime museum and hired Mr. Schwarzer, who has been director of the Graveyard of the Atlantic in Hatteras for 12 years, the rumor pot has stirred and lips have grown tighter. But taxpayers and museum supporters still have a number of questions regarding programs, exhibits and further staff changes.
Resignations and forced retirements have been a few of the rumors floating around and on Tuesday Mr. Schwarzer received an e-mail resignation from Jeannie Kraus, longtime Natural Science Curator for the maritime museum.
“Dear Joe, I wanted to inform you in writing that my projected retirement date is Dec. 1, provided I don’t need to use my excess sick leave before then,” she writes. “The retirement office has a backlog of retirement requests which could delay the process, as well.
“As I said in our meeting, it’s been a great job in many ways, but I am ready to pursue other interests. All these years have been a long, but exciting run.”
Mrs. Kraus went on to say her departure in December would give the museum plenty of time to hire a replacement before the busy summer season.
“I think there are good days ahead for the museum,” she concluded. “Thank you for your support.”
Mr. Schwarzer forwarded the e-mail to Mrs. Friend and said he hadn’t replied to the e-mail, yet.
And though Mr. Schwarzer and Mrs. Friend have repeatedly said no programs were being scrapped, there are rumors that the shell exhibit is gone, that Mr. Schwarzer wants to get rid of the aquarium in the museum and that he dislikes the newly opened “Knights of the Black Flag” pirate exhibit.
Michelle McConnell, museum public relations director, said she’s heard nothing about eliminating programs or exhibits and that seashell exhibit was removed so cases could be rebuilt. Apparently the wood had warped and was in need of repair.
“I’m actually excited because Joe (Schwarzer) wants to expand the Queen Anne’s Revenge project because it’s Beaufort’s history,” she said concerning the pirate exhibit at the museum. The Queen Anne’s Revenge was the flagship of the pirate Blackbeard, and the shipwreck off Beaufort Inlet is believed to be the ship.
“We’ve got a lot of people coming in to see the pirate exhibit, and they say it’s one of the best we’ve ever had, and they’re all going to get better. It makes it plain to see people definitely have an interest,” she said.
She said since Mr. Schwarzer has taken over as director, he’s split his time between the maritime museums in Southport and Beaufort and the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum at Cape Hatteras.
She said she’s expecting a staff retreat soon to discuss the museum’s re-accreditation process by the American Association of Museums, and at that meeting they’ll likely discuss the future of their programs and exhibits.
But that’s all Mrs. McConnell is at liberty to talk about because all other inquiries have to go through Mrs. Friend in Raleigh.
Two of the questions Mrs. Friend was asked to answer for The News-Times, along with the public information request for staff e-mails, were:
• What is Dr. Nateman’s new job description and what is he working on in his office at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences?
• Why did Mr. Schwarzer reportedly tell museum staff, specifically the registrar, not to speak to the “two-bit” paper, The News-Times, and deny paperwork existed regarding the exchange of gold flake artifacts from the maritime museum to Pat Croce?
Two weeks ago The News-Times discovered in a blog written by Mr. Croce, former NBA team president, author, motivational speaker and owner of the Pirate Soul Museum in Key West, Fla., that he had received flakes of Blackbeard’s gold taken from his flagship the Queen Anne’s Revenge to pitch a movie about the infamous pirate to Hollywood movie moguls.
The pitch worked and Mr. Croce said the movie is being written by the writer who wrote the scripts for “Gladiator” and “King Arthur,” that it will be directed by Stephen Spielberg and produced by Dreamworks Pictures.
As exciting as the prospect may be that the state may have a hand in a blockbuster movie, the maritime museum’s collections guidelines have traditionally been not to allow the exchange of artifacts to individuals, only other museums.
However, Dr. Nateman said previously that he filed appropriate paperwork and acted within his purview as museum director.
When initially asked, the staff of the maritime museum said they didn’t have any record of the exchange, which, according to sources, is what they were told to say at the request of Mr. Schwarzer.
However, the DCR sent that paperwork to The News-Times last week revealing the exchange was documented, but that the artifacts were sent directly to Mr. Croce’s home, not his museum.
Mr. Croce and his Pirate Soul Museum are now three years into a 10-year, $75,000 agreement with the Maritime Museum for Queen Anne’s Revenge Artifacts, which is how Mr. Croce and Dr. Nateman initially began working closely.
“Under no circumstances will objects from the museum’s main collection be loaned to private individuals, businesses or homes or to institutions not open to the public,” said Mrs. Friend last week, regarding the museum’s loan policy, in effect since 2006.
But a closer look at the museum’s collection policy, available on the museum’s Web site, says, “The director is the final authority on all decisions affecting the collection.”
Mrs. Friend said last week, “We are reviewing the loans to the Pirate Soul Museum to determine compliance with the American Association of Museums standards and our own North Carolina Maritime Museum Collections Management Policy.”
Dr. Nateman has not been allowed to elaborate on the artifact exchange to the press, but he wrote an e-mail to the state Museum of History Director Ken Howard explaining his actions.
“With all the discussion regarding the loan of gold dust to Pat Croce, I felt that I should offer you an explanation regarding why I made the decision to approve the loan …” Dr. Nateman wrote.
“When Pat (Croce) contacted me about the short-term loan of some gold dust, I was very clear that the loan had to be with Pirate Soul, not with him personally. As to my approving the artifacts being shipped to an address other than Pirate Soul, that was a decision on my part.
“Our collections policy is an internal document that was recently revised under my direction and it was implemented under my signature – I authorized it. The policy is to serve as a series of guidelines based upon the best museum practices, but they are guidelines nonetheless. There have been a number of instances where those guidelines were not followed because of special circumstances. These decisions have been made on a case-by-case basis.
“I felt the potential for having our QAR (Queen Anne’s Revenge) collection becoming a part of the promotion of Spielberg’s Blackbeard movie was an incredible opportunity that could be worth millions of dollars in advertising for the museum and DCR … My decision was based on what we would gain by our association with this project.
“I simply wanted you to understand that this kind of thing is not that unusual in the museum world. For example, while it is not our policy to loan artifacts to individuals, there are a number of museums that do offer their members the benefit of borrowing artifacts to display in their homes for short periods of time. My point is that different museums have different policies and that policies are guidelines that are not ‘etched in stone,’ but may be overlooked in special circumstances.”
Mr. Howard’s response was that “anytime someone goes outside the guidelines they have to consider what someone will say about it and how it would like in the news.”
The gold was returned to the Beaufort museum July 16.
And as for Dr. Nateman’s new job, curator of special projects, he received an official description of his position on Sept. 3 – nearly two months after his demotion.
The written description says Dr. Nateman’s position is to “develop exhibitions, educational programs and publications related to the Queen Anne’s Revenge project; serve as the division grant writer to secure funding support for division projects; assist division staff on other projects, as needed; and promote the state’s maritime history.”
Working with Friends
In looking for answers regarding changes at the museum and DCR, The News-Times spoke to Brent Creelman, executive director of the Friends of the Museum, who said he sees a bright future for the maritime museum, despite the rumors, and that the DCR and the Friends are beginning to “normalize relations” again for the support of programs and fundraising.
Mr. Creelman, who has been working closely with Mr. Schwarzer and Mr. Howard since July, said he expects good news to come out regarding the museum and the DCR before the general election this fall. With the election comes a new governor, who in turn will name a director for DCR.
The two organizations haven’t worked closely since the Pepsi America Tall Ships event in 2006.
“A number of things were on hold after the Pepsi Sail,” Mr. Creelman said.
The reason is still unclear, if not unknown, because neither the Friends, the museum nor the DCR claim responsibility for the less-than-satisfactory turnout for the multimillion dollar event and large debt.
The event was held in Beaufort after Capt. Horatio Sinbad, resident pirate, won the Pepsi Tall Ships event and got to select where the next race would be. He picked his homeport.
The museum had committees working on the event, but because it was slated to be a large event, the DCR, unsure of whether the museum could pull it off, sent planners and directors from Raleigh.
The budget grew by leaps and bounds and the event lost millions of dollars because the number of tall ships expected didn’t show up, drawing smaller-than-anticipated crowds.
But in an e-mail sent Friday, Aug. 19, Mrs. Friend said she wanted to clarify DCR’s role in the tall ships event.
“Cultural Resources was responsible for bus transportation and the satellite parking system and did provide for the N.C. Symphony concert and other musical entertainment that was free and accessible to everyone,” she wrote. “Cultural Resources was not responsible for nor did it ‘take control of the event planning’ and was not ‘contracted with a private firm to market the festival and handle ticket sales and logistics.’”
Event planning, transportation and service contracting were handled by a limited liability company, Pepsi Americas’ Sail LLC, which the museum created per a DCR mandate.
A ferry incident was also a part of the “tall ships fiasco” when a state ferry was used for an invitation-only sightseeing cruise for state officials and other important people.
Gov. Mike Easley later demanded that the State Ports Authority, which hosted the party, repay nearly $4,000 of taxpayer money used to pay for the cruise.
The DCR and Friends of the Museum had to pay off their debt from the tall ships and finished doing so earlier this year.
Speculation is the tall ships event caused Dr. Nateman’s demotion though his role was only in initial planning. DCR official have repeatedly said that cannot be discussed because it is a private personnel issue.
When the change was first made, Dr. Nateman was earning $62,407, but as of Aug. 1 he now earns $56,166. Mr. Schwarzer earns around $75,000.
The state’s employee handbook says there are only two reasons for discipline or dismissal of employees: unsatisfactory job performance, including “grossly inefficient job performance,” and unacceptable personal conduct.
The handbook describes grossly inefficient job performance as when poor job performance causes death or serious injury to another person. Poor performance, according to the handbook, creates conditions that increase the chance for death or bodily injury or there is loss or damage to state property or funds resulting in a serious impact on the state or work unit. No prior warnings are needed to dismiss and acceptable action is demotion and pay cuts.
Because the secretary of the DCR, Libba Evans, has been on leave without pay since May 1, The News-Times checked on the state’s policy for leave without pay, as well. The state employee’s handbook says an employee can take extended leave without pay for six months.
Mrs. Evans absence has left Deputy Secretary Staci Meyer in charge. The DCR has not said when they expect Mrs. Evans back, and according to state policy, she doesn’t have to come back until November.
State policy also says an employee, while exhausting leave, can continue to accumulate leave and is eligible for sick leave, holidays and salary increases.
The handbook also says, while on leave without pay, the employee may continue coverage under the state’s health insurance program by paying the full premium cost (no contribution by the state). And if the employee does not return to work following leave without pay, the employee must be paid for any unused vacation/bonus leave at time of separation.
For more information on the museum visit www.ncmaritimemuseum.org, for the Friends, visit www.ncmm-friends.org and for DCR, visit www.ncculture.com.
BEAUFORT — Museum directors changed in July, an inappropriate artifact exchange was conducted in May and now the new director has reportedly told his staff not to speak to The News-Times.
So what’s really going on at the N.C. Maritime Museum?
To find out as much as possible, The News-Times requested copies of e-mails among several employees of the state Department of Cultural Resources (DCR), parent agency for the museum, along with explanations regarding its collections policy and job description of the former museum director Dr. David Nateman.
When asked by DCR Public Relations Director Maryanne Friend for any e-mails he had, new maritime museum Director Joe Schwarzer wrote to DCR Deputy Secretary Staci Meyer, “I went through my computer yesterday (Tuesday) and sent everything I had to Maryanne. It is unfortunate we have to spend time on this but maybe this will exhaust the subject.”
Mrs. Friend seemed more cooperative and saw the importance of releasing information. She told The News-Times, “The DCR’s interest is in making sure the public has factual information. We feel we have a great story at that museum.”
Since the DCR recently demoted Dr. Nateman as director of the maritime museum and hired Mr. Schwarzer, who has been director of the Graveyard of the Atlantic in Hatteras for 12 years, the rumor pot has stirred and lips have grown tighter. But taxpayers and museum supporters still have a number of questions regarding programs, exhibits and further staff changes.
Resignations and forced retirements have been a few of the rumors floating around and on Tuesday Mr. Schwarzer received an e-mail resignation from Jeannie Kraus, longtime Natural Science Curator for the maritime museum.
“Dear Joe, I wanted to inform you in writing that my projected retirement date is Dec. 1, provided I don’t need to use my excess sick leave before then,” she writes. “The retirement office has a backlog of retirement requests which could delay the process, as well.
“As I said in our meeting, it’s been a great job in many ways, but I am ready to pursue other interests. All these years have been a long, but exciting run.”
Mrs. Kraus went on to say her departure in December would give the museum plenty of time to hire a replacement before the busy summer season.
“I think there are good days ahead for the museum,” she concluded. “Thank you for your support.”
Mr. Schwarzer forwarded the e-mail to Mrs. Friend and said he hadn’t replied to the e-mail, yet.
And though Mr. Schwarzer and Mrs. Friend have repeatedly said no programs were being scrapped, there are rumors that the shell exhibit is gone, that Mr. Schwarzer wants to get rid of the aquarium in the museum and that he dislikes the newly opened “Knights of the Black Flag” pirate exhibit.
Michelle McConnell, museum public relations director, said she’s heard nothing about eliminating programs or exhibits and that seashell exhibit was removed so cases could be rebuilt. Apparently the wood had warped and was in need of repair.
“I’m actually excited because Joe (Schwarzer) wants to expand the Queen Anne’s Revenge project because it’s Beaufort’s history,” she said concerning the pirate exhibit at the museum. The Queen Anne’s Revenge was the flagship of the pirate Blackbeard, and the shipwreck off Beaufort Inlet is believed to be the ship.
“We’ve got a lot of people coming in to see the pirate exhibit, and they say it’s one of the best we’ve ever had, and they’re all going to get better. It makes it plain to see people definitely have an interest,” she said.
She said since Mr. Schwarzer has taken over as director, he’s split his time between the maritime museums in Southport and Beaufort and the Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum at Cape Hatteras.
She said she’s expecting a staff retreat soon to discuss the museum’s re-accreditation process by the American Association of Museums, and at that meeting they’ll likely discuss the future of their programs and exhibits.
But that’s all Mrs. McConnell is at liberty to talk about because all other inquiries have to go through Mrs. Friend in Raleigh.
Two of the questions Mrs. Friend was asked to answer for The News-Times, along with the public information request for staff e-mails, were:
• What is Dr. Nateman’s new job description and what is he working on in his office at the UNC Institute of Marine Sciences?
• Why did Mr. Schwarzer reportedly tell museum staff, specifically the registrar, not to speak to the “two-bit” paper, The News-Times, and deny paperwork existed regarding the exchange of gold flake artifacts from the maritime museum to Pat Croce?
Two weeks ago The News-Times discovered in a blog written by Mr. Croce, former NBA team president, author, motivational speaker and owner of the Pirate Soul Museum in Key West, Fla., that he had received flakes of Blackbeard’s gold taken from his flagship the Queen Anne’s Revenge to pitch a movie about the infamous pirate to Hollywood movie moguls.
The pitch worked and Mr. Croce said the movie is being written by the writer who wrote the scripts for “Gladiator” and “King Arthur,” that it will be directed by Stephen Spielberg and produced by Dreamworks Pictures.
As exciting as the prospect may be that the state may have a hand in a blockbuster movie, the maritime museum’s collections guidelines have traditionally been not to allow the exchange of artifacts to individuals, only other museums.
However, Dr. Nateman said previously that he filed appropriate paperwork and acted within his purview as museum director.
When initially asked, the staff of the maritime museum said they didn’t have any record of the exchange, which, according to sources, is what they were told to say at the request of Mr. Schwarzer.
However, the DCR sent that paperwork to The News-Times last week revealing the exchange was documented, but that the artifacts were sent directly to Mr. Croce’s home, not his museum.
Mr. Croce and his Pirate Soul Museum are now three years into a 10-year, $75,000 agreement with the Maritime Museum for Queen Anne’s Revenge Artifacts, which is how Mr. Croce and Dr. Nateman initially began working closely.
“Under no circumstances will objects from the museum’s main collection be loaned to private individuals, businesses or homes or to institutions not open to the public,” said Mrs. Friend last week, regarding the museum’s loan policy, in effect since 2006.
But a closer look at the museum’s collection policy, available on the museum’s Web site, says, “The director is the final authority on all decisions affecting the collection.”
Mrs. Friend said last week, “We are reviewing the loans to the Pirate Soul Museum to determine compliance with the American Association of Museums standards and our own North Carolina Maritime Museum Collections Management Policy.”
Dr. Nateman has not been allowed to elaborate on the artifact exchange to the press, but he wrote an e-mail to the state Museum of History Director Ken Howard explaining his actions.
“With all the discussion regarding the loan of gold dust to Pat Croce, I felt that I should offer you an explanation regarding why I made the decision to approve the loan …” Dr. Nateman wrote.
“When Pat (Croce) contacted me about the short-term loan of some gold dust, I was very clear that the loan had to be with Pirate Soul, not with him personally. As to my approving the artifacts being shipped to an address other than Pirate Soul, that was a decision on my part.
“Our collections policy is an internal document that was recently revised under my direction and it was implemented under my signature – I authorized it. The policy is to serve as a series of guidelines based upon the best museum practices, but they are guidelines nonetheless. There have been a number of instances where those guidelines were not followed because of special circumstances. These decisions have been made on a case-by-case basis.
“I felt the potential for having our QAR (Queen Anne’s Revenge) collection becoming a part of the promotion of Spielberg’s Blackbeard movie was an incredible opportunity that could be worth millions of dollars in advertising for the museum and DCR … My decision was based on what we would gain by our association with this project.
“I simply wanted you to understand that this kind of thing is not that unusual in the museum world. For example, while it is not our policy to loan artifacts to individuals, there are a number of museums that do offer their members the benefit of borrowing artifacts to display in their homes for short periods of time. My point is that different museums have different policies and that policies are guidelines that are not ‘etched in stone,’ but may be overlooked in special circumstances.”
Mr. Howard’s response was that “anytime someone goes outside the guidelines they have to consider what someone will say about it and how it would like in the news.”
The gold was returned to the Beaufort museum July 16.
And as for Dr. Nateman’s new job, curator of special projects, he received an official description of his position on Sept. 3 – nearly two months after his demotion.
The written description says Dr. Nateman’s position is to “develop exhibitions, educational programs and publications related to the Queen Anne’s Revenge project; serve as the division grant writer to secure funding support for division projects; assist division staff on other projects, as needed; and promote the state’s maritime history.”
Working with Friends
In looking for answers regarding changes at the museum and DCR, The News-Times spoke to Brent Creelman, executive director of the Friends of the Museum, who said he sees a bright future for the maritime museum, despite the rumors, and that the DCR and the Friends are beginning to “normalize relations” again for the support of programs and fundraising.
Mr. Creelman, who has been working closely with Mr. Schwarzer and Mr. Howard since July, said he expects good news to come out regarding the museum and the DCR before the general election this fall. With the election comes a new governor, who in turn will name a director for DCR.
The two organizations haven’t worked closely since the Pepsi America Tall Ships event in 2006.
“A number of things were on hold after the Pepsi Sail,” Mr. Creelman said.
The reason is still unclear, if not unknown, because neither the Friends, the museum nor the DCR claim responsibility for the less-than-satisfactory turnout for the multimillion dollar event and large debt.
The event was held in Beaufort after Capt. Horatio Sinbad, resident pirate, won the Pepsi Tall Ships event and got to select where the next race would be. He picked his homeport.
The museum had committees working on the event, but because it was slated to be a large event, the DCR, unsure of whether the museum could pull it off, sent planners and directors from Raleigh.
The budget grew by leaps and bounds and the event lost millions of dollars because the number of tall ships expected didn’t show up, drawing smaller-than-anticipated crowds.
But in an e-mail sent Friday, Aug. 19, Mrs. Friend said she wanted to clarify DCR’s role in the tall ships event.
“Cultural Resources was responsible for bus transportation and the satellite parking system and did provide for the N.C. Symphony concert and other musical entertainment that was free and accessible to everyone,” she wrote. “Cultural Resources was not responsible for nor did it ‘take control of the event planning’ and was not ‘contracted with a private firm to market the festival and handle ticket sales and logistics.’”
Event planning, transportation and service contracting were handled by a limited liability company, Pepsi Americas’ Sail LLC, which the museum created per a DCR mandate.
A ferry incident was also a part of the “tall ships fiasco” when a state ferry was used for an invitation-only sightseeing cruise for state officials and other important people.
Gov. Mike Easley later demanded that the State Ports Authority, which hosted the party, repay nearly $4,000 of taxpayer money used to pay for the cruise.
The DCR and Friends of the Museum had to pay off their debt from the tall ships and finished doing so earlier this year.
Speculation is the tall ships event caused Dr. Nateman’s demotion though his role was only in initial planning. DCR official have repeatedly said that cannot be discussed because it is a private personnel issue.
When the change was first made, Dr. Nateman was earning $62,407, but as of Aug. 1 he now earns $56,166. Mr. Schwarzer earns around $75,000.
The state’s employee handbook says there are only two reasons for discipline or dismissal of employees: unsatisfactory job performance, including “grossly inefficient job performance,” and unacceptable personal conduct.
The handbook describes grossly inefficient job performance as when poor job performance causes death or serious injury to another person. Poor performance, according to the handbook, creates conditions that increase the chance for death or bodily injury or there is loss or damage to state property or funds resulting in a serious impact on the state or work unit. No prior warnings are needed to dismiss and acceptable action is demotion and pay cuts.
Because the secretary of the DCR, Libba Evans, has been on leave without pay since May 1, The News-Times checked on the state’s policy for leave without pay, as well. The state employee’s handbook says an employee can take extended leave without pay for six months.
Mrs. Evans absence has left Deputy Secretary Staci Meyer in charge. The DCR has not said when they expect Mrs. Evans back, and according to state policy, she doesn’t have to come back until November.
State policy also says an employee, while exhausting leave, can continue to accumulate leave and is eligible for sick leave, holidays and salary increases.
The handbook also says, while on leave without pay, the employee may continue coverage under the state’s health insurance program by paying the full premium cost (no contribution by the state). And if the employee does not return to work following leave without pay, the employee must be paid for any unused vacation/bonus leave at time of separation.
For more information on the museum visit www.ncmaritimemuseum.org, for the Friends, visit www.ncmm-friends.org and for DCR, visit www.ncculture.com.
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