MAC board taps former ambassador Tim Carney as interim director

The Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture has named Tim Carney, a retired diplomat and former U.S. ambassador to Sudan and Haiti, as its new interim director. The museum’s board of trustees voted Carney into the position in late November.

Carney’s wife, Victoria Butler, had been a member of the museum’s board of trustees, but she resigned following her husband’s appointment. Donna Weaver, the board’s president, said Butler initially suggested her husband as a candidate but recused herself from voting on his appointment.

“The search for the executive director has taken longer than expected, so they wanted to bring on somebody to help with administrative tasks and fundraising and all the year-end legislative duties,” said Alison Highberger, the museum’s media relations specialist.

Butler and Carney also had an exhibit at the MAC in 2007, a collection of photographs from their book, “Sudan: The Land and the People.” The Johnston Foundation, named for Butler’s grandfather Eric Johnston, is also a benefactor to several cultural institutions, including the MAC, and Johnston’s name adorns one of the museum’s auditoriums.

The couple lives full time in Washington, D.C., but Carney said they visit Spokane regularly. He will be working out of Spokane while the MAC’s search committee looks for a permanent executive director.

“Basically, I’m a stabilizing influence which enables the rest of the staff … to put all of their focus and energy on doing those vital jobs to make sure the MAC is a welcoming place,” Carney said.

Weaver said the board was not concerned with Carney’s appointment being interpreted as a conflict of interest, a sentiment that Carney echoes.

“The fact that (Butler) recused herself from the discussion and then resigned means there aren’t any (conflicts),” Carney said.

Weaver said the initial search for an executive director started in the spring, but the applicant chosen by the board at the end of September accepted another job. The search to fill the position, which Weaver says includes an annual salary up to $130,000, continues.

The MAC’s previous executive director, Forrest Rodgers, had a bumpy history with the board of trustees. He was first ousted by the board in 2012 but was reinstated following public outcry. He was fired again earlier this year, and he alleged that he and Butler butted heads on certain operations at the museum, which he believes contributed to the decision to fire him.

Rodgers declined to comment on Carney’s hiring.

John Moredo-Burich, the MAC’s director of museum experience, was named interim director in February following Rodgers’ most recent ouster. However, with the impending opening of “Titans of the Ice Age: Mammoths and Mastodons,” Weaver said it was important for Moredo-Burich to return to his original position.

Carney’s previous diplomatic credits include serving as coordinator for economic transition in Iraq, a position appointed to him by then-Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. He was also executive vice president of the Clinton-Bush Haiti Fund, which focused on the country’s economic recovery following a 2010 earthquake.

Since taking his position at the MAC in the first week of December, Carney said he has met with state legislators and other MAC stakeholders to start raising more funds for the museum. He also said he plans to focus on increasing MAC memberships during the holiday months.

Carney is expected to serve a three-month tenure, though Weaver said his contract covers him for up to six months. Weaver said the interim director position carries a monthly salary of $6,250, which is taxed. Carney is not involved in the search for a new executive director.

“If they can get somebody faster than three months, so much the better,” Carney said. “If it’s a little longer, that ought to work, too.”

“Titans of the Ice Age” opens Feb. 11. The museum’s current major exhibit, “Lost Egypt: Ancient Secrets, Modern Science,” continues through Jan. 6.