Controversial "Conversations": Analyzing a Museum Director’s Strategic Alternatives When a Famous Donor Becomes Tainted

Authors

  • Jennifer Rinella Rockhurst University
  • Katie Fischer Clune Rockhurst University
  • Tracy Blasdel Rockhurst University

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18666/JNEL-2019-V9-I1-8390

Keywords:

arts administration, philanthropy, stakeholder theory, crisis communication, nonprofit leadership, tainted donor, ethical decision-making

Abstract

This teaching case places students in the role of Dr. Johnnetta Cole, director of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, as she determines how to respond to a situation in which Bill Cosby—well-known entertainer, spouse of a museum advisory board member, donor, and lender of a significant number of important pieces of art on display at the Museum—has been charged with sexual misconduct. Representing the Museum, the director must weigh the cost of appearing to support her friends the Cosbys against the value of displaying one of the world’s largest private collections of African American art. This case extends stakeholder theory by utilizing Dunn’s (2010) three-factor model for applying stakeholder theory to a tainted donor situation.

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Author Biographies

Jennifer Rinella, Rockhurst University

Dr. Jennifer Rinella is an assistant professor of management and director of the nonprofit leadership program in the Helzberg School of Management at Rockhurst University.

Katie Fischer Clune, Rockhurst University

Dr. Katie Fischer Clune is associate professor of communication at Rockhurst University. She is also director of the university's Honors Program.

Tracy Blasdel, Rockhurst University

Dr. Tracy Blasdel is assistant professor of management and marketing in the Helzberg School of Management at Rockhurst University. Prior to teaching she spent more than 10 years in corporate marketing and agency settings.

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Published

2019-01-16

Issue

Vol. 9 No. 1 (2019)

Section

Teaching Case Study

License

Sagamore Publishing LLC (hereinafter the “Copyright Owner”)

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