Another New Leader for Indianapolis Museum Roiled by Racism Outcry

The Indianapolis Museum of Art is getting its third leader in four years as it continues to deal with the fallout from a racially insensitive job posting that led to its longtime leader’s departure in 2021.

Newfields, whose campus includes the museum, announced on Monday that Le Monte G. Booker Sr., the chief financial officer of Chicago’s Field Museum, would serve as its next president and chief executive. Booker replaces Colette Pierce Burnette, the first Black woman in the role, who departed last November for unclear reasons after just over a year on the job.

In a statement, Booker called Newfields “an outstanding example of a cornerstone cultural institution,” adding that he looked forward to working with the board and staff “to continue to meet the mission of enriching lives through exceptional experiences with art and nature.”

Neither the museum nor Burnette — who replaced the museum’s previous leader, Charles L. Venable, who resigned in 2021 after the controversy over the job posting — have provided a reason for her departure.

The months after Burnette’s exit were followed by public protests outside the museum, as dozens of people questioned Newfields’s commitment to the diversity and inclusion promises it had made after the job posting and demanded her reinstatement. Five members of the institution’s board of trustees and four members of the volunteer-based board of governors, which is focused on community advocacy and has no official decision-making authority, resigned.

Michael Kubacki, the chairman of the local Lake City Bank and a former board member, had been serving as the interim president and chief executive of Newfields. Kubacki and Venable are both white.