Wittenberg purchased the building in 2010 as the museum was having financial trouble. The purchase has been cited as a bad transaction for the school as the university has sought to cut spending over the last several years.
MORE: Wittenberg drops case against Springfield law firm
Wittenberg Interim President Dick Shelton said returning ownership to the museum will help the school better focus on its students. He also said the museum is ready to regain ownership.
“This is a positive step forward for both our institutions and for our community of Springfield,” said Wittenberg Interim President Dick Helton in a statement. “This is Springfield’s museum, and that is how it should be.”
Along with transferring the property to the museum, the two groups have also agreed to work together on projects to give Wittenberg students opportunities.
Executive Director of the Springfield Museum of Art Ann Fortescue said the museum group is happy about regaining ownership of the building.
MORE: Wittenberg to cut $6.5M
“After a year of very thoughtful conversation between Wittenberg University and Springfield Museum of Art everyone agreed it was in everybody’s best interest, especially the community’s, that the Springfield Museum of Art resume ownership of the building,” Fortescue said. “It is very exciting and resuming ownership of the building comes after really the past four years of work that we have been doing to steadily increase community engagement and involvement.”
The buildings is about 30,000 square-feet and attracts about 14,000 visitors a year, Fortescue. It employs seven people, four full-time and three part-time, and is considered a tourist attraction for the city of Springfield.
Increased involvement by the community has led to greater numbers in membership, donations and grant money, Fortescue said. She said the additional money will help the museum with ownership costs into the future.
MORE: Springfield Museum of Art opens “Marianne Rabb Britton exhibit
She said a major part in the museum’s success has been its focus on getting schools involved. She said the museum spearheaded an initiative this year that helped students at Reid School learn about the universe while also appreciating its beauty.
Now that the museum is the owner of the property again, Fortescue said a priority is to make sure it is up to standard for accreditation.
“We do need to continue to operate according to the American Alliance of Museum accreditation standards and that means continually caring for our collection,” she said. “Museum collection care requirements have temperature and humidity measures that we need to make sure we are aligned with.
“Some of those eventual improvements will include upgrading our HVAC.”
She said the upgrades won’t be immediate but will hopefully happen soon. She said the process of acquiring the building went smoothly and could not have been done without Springfield residents.
“We have had an outpouring of community support,” she said. “The community sees the value that we are bringing.”
Unmatched Coverage:
The Springfield News-Sun provides the best coverage of Clark County including important businesses and tourist attractions like the Springfield Museum of Art.
By the numbers:
30,000: square footage of the Springfield Museum of Art
14,000: on site visitors that attend the art museum a year.
7: Employees at the Springfield Museum of Art.
About the Author