Jack Lohman
Jack Lohman, who stepped down as CEO of the Royal B.C. Museum in Victoria last month amidst controversy over allegations of racism at the institution, is remaining as president of the Canadian Museums Association, says Vanda Vitali, the association's executive director.
"A few of you have suggested that Prof. Lohman should step down from his role at the CMA as well," Vitali wrote in a March 17 letter to association members posted online. "Others have expressed their interest in having him stay on until the end of his mandate, which is just five weeks away."
Vitali said the board did not ask Lohman to step down.
"Our board has been actively monitoring and discussing the situation, and they are mindful that the investigation into the matter by the provincial government remains underway," she said. "The board determined last week that Prof. Lohman should remain in his role and that the focus would be on a smooth transition to a new president in early May."
She also said three board members – identified by CBC News as Stephen Borys, director of the Winnipeg Art Gallery, Margaret Chrumka, executive director of the Kamloops Art Gallery, and Ken Ross, the director of the Bank of Canada Museum – have chosen to step down.
The crisis at the Victoria museum emerged after Lucy Bell, a member of the Haida Nation and head of the museum's First Nations department and repatriation program, cited racism and a toxic workplace in a farewell speech to her colleagues last summer.
The museums' association, set up in 1947, is a voice for Canada's museums. It created a Reconciliation Council in 2018 charged with recommending national policies that would comply with the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.