This guest commentary is reposted from Artists of Michigan with the writer's permission. He's a 38-year-old Detroit artist and composer who earned a film studies degree from Wayne State in 2008.
By Alonso del Arte
What kind of person gets and accepts a huge pay raise when there is a major existential threat to the organization of which he is the director?
Alonso del Arte: "What has Detroit gotten for the DIA wasting more than $8 million on Graham Beal?" (Facebook photo by Emma Lockridge)
That's what happened with Graham Beal in 2012. With the city in bankruptcy and the Detroit Institute of Arts collection in danger of being sold off to pay creditors, Beal got a raise that put his pay above that of the United States president.
The DIA deserves a director with integrity. But unfortunately, the secrecy with which DIA board chair Eugene Gargaro is conducting the search for the next director suggests that a similar person might be chosen, one more interested in lining his pockets than in preserving the DIA collection. Gargaro has repeatedly said that high salaries are needed to attract top talent.
But what has Detroit gotten for the DIA wasting more than $8 million on Graham Beal? According to Sheri Begin, writing for Crain's Detroit Business in 2007:
Beal led a campaign that raised $231 million of its $331 million goal. When a proposed property tax to fund cultural institutions was defeated in 2002 and renovation costs spiked after the discovery of asbestos in the museum's walls, Beal and the DIA launched a new $180 million campaign late in 2004.
To date, the campaign has raised $80 million to complete the renovation and to fund operations for the next 10 years, for an endowment and the reinstallation of more than 6,000 pieces of art.
So, Graham Beal led a campaign that raised only $231 million of the $331 million goal -- or barely 70%. If that was a Kickstarter campaign, it would have failed to raise any money.
Then in 2004, another fundraising campaign, which as of 2007 hadn't even reached the halfway mark. In 2012, Beal's best idea was to try for a millage again. But wait, was that even his idea anyway?
You couldn't even count on Beal to at least make a symbolic sacrifice, like declining a raise to an already high salary.
Graham Beale, DIA director from 1999-2015.
Look, you don't need a high salary to attract good candidates. Early responses to a survey suggest that an annual salary of $200,000 and a good parking spot may be enough to entice someone with "honesty and integrity," "ability to raise funds for the DIA" and "an understanding and awareness that Wayne, Oakland and Macomb County residents are providing a majority of DIA funding" to want the position.
But if you are really itching to give bonuses, here's a novel idea: Award them for actual achievements, such as meeting or exceeding fundraising goals, or for securing the DIA against all possible existential threats. That's supposed to be such a big reason for having a well-paid director in the first place.
The DIA is a world-class institution that's supposed to be in the public trust of the people of metro Detroit. As such, it deserves a director with not just a proven track record for fundraising, but one who will live up to the standards of the taxpayers without whose support the DIA would not have survived the city's bankruptcy. The taxpayers are the ones who saved the DIA in its time of need -- not Graham Beal, who did little more than cash large paychecks.
It is high time that the DIA board listened to their concerns in selecting the next director.
Editor's note: Right after the two paragraphs quoted from Crain's on March 25, 2007, the reporter writes:
"During Beal's tenure, the DIA's unrestricted operating endowment has nearly doubled to $56 million from $30 million in 1999."
Related article:
Three DIA Execs' Bonuses and Raises Total $625,185, Aug. 25, 2015
