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HomeMy WebLinkAbout03.03.22_Museum Board MinutesMinutes of the March 3, 2021 Museum Board Meeting Oshkosh Public Museum ■ 1331 Algoma Boulevard ■ Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 Page 1 of 3 Minutes of the March 3, 2022 Board Meeting (Approved at the April 7, 2022 Board Meeting.) The March meeting of the Oshkosh Public Museum Board was held Thursday, March 3, 2022, via Zoom. President Loiacono called the meeting to order at 4:00 pm. The roll was taken by Administrative Assistant Theresa Books. PRESENT AT ROLL: President Gabe Loiacono, Vice President Becky Matzke, Board Members Jim Hoffman, Rick Rego, Jean Thierman, Alternate Tiara Cavett, Alternate Dana Stolley EXCUSED: Secretary Connie Drexler, Board School Board President Bob Poeschl, Oshkosh Superintendent of Schools Bryan Davis ABSENT: Carol Fenrich With Ms Drexler’s absence President Loiacono appointed Ms. Stolley in her place. With Ms. Fenrich absent he appointed Ms. Cavett. ALSO PRESENT: Director Sarah Phillips, Assistant Director Anna Cannizzo, Marketing Coordinator Katherine “Kate” Stel, Auxiliary President Kathy Wuest, and Administrative Assistant Theresa Books recording the minutes. There were no citizen statements to the Board and none were received. Consent Agenda items included: A. Minutes of the February Board Meeting B. March Bill List MOTION: Adopt Consent Agenda (Matzke; second Rego) CARRIED: Yes (7) Cavett, Hoffman, Loiacono, Matzke, Rego, Stolley, Thierman President Loiacono then requested Ms. Phillips present the Director’s Report. Ms. Phillips was pleased to begin with an introduction of Kate Stel, Marketing Coordinator; the Museum’s newest staff member. Ms. Stel will be fulfilling a role that is focused on sharing the message of the Museum, and ensuring visitors, stakeholders, and members are connected to the mission of the Museum. The updated Marketing Coordinator position also includes the Minutes of the March 3, 2021 Museum Board Meeting Oshkosh Public Museum ■ 1331 Algoma Boulevard ■ Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 Page 2 of 3 management of the Museum Store. Ms. Stel has jumped right into her role and is quickly learning current Museum systems. Ms. Stel then introduced herself to the Board. Her formal name is Katharine, but she goes by Kate. She is thrilled to be part of this team at the Oshkosh Public Museum as Marketing Coordinator. She’d previously worked in fundraising and development, communications, and community engagement roles in the non-profit human services field and in churches. She holds a Master of Divinity degree from the University of Chicago Divinity School, and attended St. Norbert College for her bachelors. Ms. Stel grew up adjacent to the Oshkosh community in the rural Green Lake area. She’s lived in Oshkosh and went to High School here. Ms. Stel now lives in the Ripon area. She noted she looks forward to getting to know each of the Board members and working together to strengthen the Museum’s present and future. The Board welcomed Ms. Stel and went around the room introducing themselves, so she’d have a good sense of who they are and their backgrounds. Ms. Phillips then continued her report, noting that staff from the City Attorney’s office will be joining the April Board meeting to provide an update and training on Board and Commission Rules and applicable city ordinances pertaining to open records. To follow through with suggested action items left by former Director Larson, review of the Oshkosh Public Museum Board Handbook and Bylaws will also begin this year. As staff review the Museum’s foundational documents, they will also be looking at internal policies for potential updates as well. As they work though each document, staff will be making connections with colleagues at other museums to ensure that the most current standards are used and we are adhering to best practice. In conclusion, Ms. Phillips reported staff received the results of the teacher survey that was sent in early February. This went out to 800 teachers. Sixty-eight Oshkosh Area School District (OASD) teachers participated, giving an 8.5% participation rate. A few key points of information include: a. 88% of teachers had never brought students to the OPM, or it has been 5 or more years since their last classroom visit. b. Over 45% of teachers stated a reason for not visiting OPM was that it didn’t fit into their curriculum. c. Teachers were able to write in comments at the end of the survey. About 50% of the comments received mentioned crowding or concerns with space. These pieces of data, plus the other information from the survey, will be used to create new materials to better communicate the Museum’s educational programs to teachers. These results Minutes of the March 3, 2021 Museum Board Meeting Oshkosh Public Museum ■ 1331 Algoma Boulevard ■ Oshkosh, Wisconsin 54901 Page 3 of 3 confirm some of the challenges staff assumed were present, and revealed other opportunities for the Museum’s education program. Ms. Phillips then asked if there were any questions. During discussion it was pointed out that Oshkosh students are going to the Paine for field trips; and that the Paine’s education and outreach staffing is much more robust than the Museum’s. For many years at OPM there has not been a staffer assigned for the education role. Through the years the Museum has made progress, but education interns were short term, and changed from year to year, so no continuity could be established. Mr. Loiacono recalled the intern in 2017 who worked on some website possibilities. And Ms. Cannizzo said she worked on curriculum for People of the Waters, but then had to get back to her regular work responsibilities. Whereas now, Ms. Cannizzo pointed out, the Museum has on staff as part-time LTE (throughout the years) Tanya Schmidt, whose main role with the OASD is social studies curriculum development. This direct link to curriculum and the OASD can make a difference. Additionally, Ms. Phillips is having Katrina Achilli focus more consistent time to developing education materials and communications with teachers. Mr. Rego recommended varying the areas/materials for various grades, not limiting it to 4th grade, so teachers won’t think, oh, it’s just for 4th graders. Ms. Phillips agreed she is eager to get all grades coming to the Museum. Ms. Wuest agreed also, that to reach out to younger children, even as early as kindergarten would be good. Ms. Phillips reported staff are looking into family programming to encourage parents and grandparents to bring young children to the Museum. Ms. Matzke suggested perhaps National History Day could be a good outreach for the Museum. When discussion ended, Ms. Phillips concluded her report. President Loiacono requested the Auxiliary Report. Auxiliary President Kathy Wuest reported there ae two more meetings of the Auxiliary, then the May luncheon. The Auxiliary would like to do Pie on the Lawn in July, if the road work on Algoma Blvd and the cement work in the front of the Museum is not too disruptive. The Auxiliary will begin planning for the Gala in June. Barb Shirts and Nancy Samida will chair the committee. The Gala will be held November 17th, the Thursday before Thanksgiving. That ended the Auxiliary report. With no other agenda items, President Loiacono asked for a motion to adjourn. (Thierman; second Matzke) CARRIED: Yes (7) Cavett, Hoffman, Loiacono, Matzke, Rego, Stolley, Thierman The meeting adjourned at 5:03 p.m.