Director to leave mark on Ringling

David Ebitz, who helped revive community support for the museum, and his wife will teach at Penn State.

By MARY ANN MARGER

© St. Petersburg Times, published June 18, 2000

Sometimes David Ebitz, director at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, wonders why he has decided to leave his post July 1.

"It's the kind of post that a director would like to come to. It's not what I came to," he says, referring to an angry community and loss of support he inherited from his predecessor when he arrived in November 1992.

His departure on July 1 coincides with a significant event in the museum's 70-year history. On that date, the state-owned museum comes under the control of Florida State University.

Coincidence? Not quite. "I did not want to announce my departure before the takeover had played out," he says.

He had been planning to leave ever since his wife, Mary Ann Stankiewicz, accepted a position at Penn State University as associate professor of art education a year ago, contingent on Ebitz being hired, too. Ebitz will sign on as adjunct associate professor of art, deliberately avoiding the tenure track in favor of more flexibility.

But the second thoughts have lingered; it can't be an easy choice, giving up the post of director of Florida's official state museum. "As recently as a couple of weeks ago, my wife and I had a discussion as to whether it really was a good thing to be leaving Sarasota," Ebitz said in mid-May.

But he added, "It's a good time to have someone come in fresh."

When Ebitz came to the museum, he found a community angered by policies of the previous director. Then, two months after his arrival, the state announced a plan to cut the museum's budget in half and wean it off state funds gradually in order to save money. In the mid-1980s, the museum had 109 state-salaried full-time positions. Today it has 60.

The Ringling, built by circus magnate John Ringling in 1930 to house his extensive collection of Rubens paintings, baroque art and other areas of the Western tradition, is Florida's official state museum as well as its oldest. Ebitz notes that the Association of Art Museum Directors lists it as the 28th largest museum in the country in space (including Ringling's residence, Ca d'Zan, and the circus museum), 34th in attendance and eighth in number of volunteers. It hosts 250,000 visitors a year.

Among Ebitz's accomplishments:

Leading the first capital endowment campaign in the museum's history, raising $3.2-million toward a $15-million restoration of Ca d'Zan. The remainder will come from state funds.

Reviving support by the community. The museum now has 4,000 members (compared with 1,700 when he arrived), and many more volunteers and donors.

Focusing attention on each of the museum's four elements, from an interior redesign of the art museum (led by Mitchell Merling, curator of art before 1900), Ca d'Zan restoration, a planned new wing for the Circus Museum and grounds improvement.

When the idea of making the museum part of the state university system first surfaced last fall, Ebitz wrote a memo against it. But in March, after meeting with the proposition's leading backer, state Sen. John McKay, R-Bradenton, Ebitz realized McKay could make the plan "a done deal."

Ebitz says two points have made him comfortable with the new situation:

The board will expand from 11 members appointed by the governor to 31 members nominated by the board. "I can't tell you how important this is," says Ebitz. "You need to draw on the board for the kind of skilled knowledge and money you need. I wish I could have done more, but the board was too small, and there were not a lot of local trustees." The old board was appointed to govern; the new board will serve the more traditional trustee role of bringing in knowledgeable and financial resources.

In practical terms, McKay's plan was the only way to ensure the funding the museum needs to operate. "That has to do with the Legislature and how it does business," says Ebitz. By making the museum part of FSU, McKay has tried to set up long-term clout while providing a buffer of protection for the museum. While it sounds stable, Ebitz cautions, "If the Board of Regents can be dissolved by the Legislature, what guarantees do we have? The only long-term guarantee that I can see is a strong board and an endowment. Those are the key elements."

Ebitz believes there is a good management team at the museum, and that FSU "will actually be a rather distant manager."

Look for the director's office to be empty for a while. The chair of Ringling's board, in consultation with FSU, is assembling a search committee this summer. The board will nominate; FSU will approve. The process is expected to take about six months.

Meanwhile, though, Ebitz says, "This is actually a good time. I feel good about leaving the museum in this strong a position."