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Issue: 1166 Date: 12/27/2012
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Archibald Resigns As History Museum President
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| The president of the Missouri History Museum, Bob Archibald, has resigned amid controversy over his compensation and museum governance. |
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The president of the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park has resigned.
A spokesman for the museum confirmed that Robert Archibald submitted his resignation to the chair of the museum's Board of Trustees today. The spokesman, Everett Dietle, did not have any additional information. The board will meet Friday morning at the museum.
Archibald and the museum have been under fire the past few months over a controversial land purchase on Delmar Blvd. and governance of the museum, including Archibald's salary and benefits. Dietle did not known if he will be eligible for more than 400 vacation days he had banked up over his 24 years at the museum.
Gloria Wessels, a member of the board that oversees and distributes tax money to the five institutions in the Zoo-Museum District, called Archibald's resignation good news.
"I really think he has done some very good things," she said. "But I believe that his compensation package, and the land deal, I just think that was far out of line. He was reporting to the trustees, and the taxpayers were not being represented."
She added that she believed the trustees were too close to Archibald and simply fulfilling his recommendations. And she said she'll continue to push for a closer look at the way the History Museum is governed.
Jerome Glick, another Archibald critic, says he was surprised by the announcement. Glick added that he never intended to drive Archibald out, and that his frustration was always with with the lack of transparency at the History Museum.
Archibald's resignation comes as a committee of the Board of Aldermen prepared for hearings on the issues at the History Museum. The chair of that committee, Joseph Roddy, did not return a phone call seeking comment. Wessels, who is the wife of Ald. Fred Wessels, was one of two ZMD commissioners to request the hearings, and says she hopes they go forward.
While Robert Archibald is stepping down as president of the Missouri History Museum, he will be getting a financial payout of close to a million dollars.
The museum's board of trustees accepted Archibald's resignation on Friday, December 21, 2012.
Despite the circumstances of his departure, Archibald himself will still be receiving a payout of $566,000 for unused vacation, plus $270,000 for a six-month consult contract. All told, $836,000, as he walks out the door.
For its part, the Museum's Board of Trustees still maintain there was nothing unusual about Archibald's compensation, or a series of land deals made without prior authorization from the board. The board chairman had nothing but praise for Archibald's tenure as president.
"Regret, that's what I'm feeling today," said Board of Trustees Chairman John Roberts. "Bob has done a terrific job for this institution, for this community, and it's a shame that he's been driven to this resignation."
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