The Board of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art (The Met) in New York City is renowned as one of the greatest encyclopedic art museums in the world. It attracts millions of visitors every year eager to view its vast collections and ambitious exhibitions. A Board of Trustees governs The Met, a body of 101 unpaid volunteers, including 43 voting members, who contribute their time, expertise, and significant financial donations to support the museum's mission. The trustees come from diverse backgrounds and include legendary finance professionals, philanthropists, and art collectors, many of whom have also made major gifts of art to the museum.

In 2015, the Board was informed by their new hire, Met president Daniel Weiss, of an unexpected financial emergency--a projected $40 million operating loss on the $361 million budget for 2016, with further losses projected for the years ahead. The public and the press wondered how the prestigious Board of Trustees had gotten the art institution in such straits that its stability was threatened.

The Met Board then confronted critical decisions: whether to implement immediate cost-cutting measures or to adopt a longer-term fundraising approach to mitigate the deficit. Additionally, the crisis prompted a reevaluation of the Board's functions, its relationship with the museum's director and professional staff, and whether changes in museum leadership and board structure were necessary to prevent another fiscal crisis.