NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The longtime executive director of the Tennessee State Museum is rejecting calls for her to be replaced as the state plans for a new $160 million facility in Nashville.
Lois Riggins-Ezzell in an interview with the Knoxville News Sentinel said she plans to remain “as long as I can,” citing her role in growing the museum from six staffers working in a basement of the War Memorial Building in 1981 to its current 120,000-square foot facilities with 42 employees and an annual budget of $3.8 million, not counting private donations.
“I am the museum,” Riggins-Ezzell exclaimed while discussing criticism of her accomplishments, though she promptly expressed regret at the remark.
Former Ambassador Victor Ashe, a member and former chairman of the board overseeing museum operations, said Riggins-Ezzell should be “honored and saluted” for her past work, but should step aside for new leadership in a new era with a new museum in the works.
Ashe said Riggins-Ezzell has shown a bias toward Nashville-area art purchases over works produced in other parts of the state. There is a public perception that “it’s not a state museum, it’s a Nashville museum,” he said.