Advisory Board Responsibilities
Bell Museum Mission Statement
The Bell Museum is the state natural history museum for the State of Minnesota. The Bell Museum’s mission is to ignite and sustain curiosity for nature and the universe.
Overall Scope of Advisory Board Responsibilities
The Board is an advisory board. It provides overall guidance and feedback on the Bell Museum’s strategy, programs, and outcomes, and serves as a community advocate for the Bell Museum in all respects.
The Bell Board is not a governing board with fiduciary responsibilities. Budget, staff, financial development and facilities are administered and governed by the University of Minnesota under the direction of the Bell’s Executive Director and the Dean of the College of Food Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS). The governing body of the Bell is the University’s Board of Regents.
Structure of the Advisory Board
The Advisory Board comprises 16 to 20 members led by the Board Chair. The Board has established three standing committees to support its work: the Strategy Committee, Program Committee, and Board Development & Nomination Committee. Other sub-committees and task forces are established on an as-needed basis.
Role of the Advisory Board
In general, the Advisory Board’s role is to support the mission of the Bell Museum. Board members are selected based on their individual skills and experience in such areas as art, natural history, astronomy, education, marketing, and finance, so that, collectively, the Board can comprehensively address the following roles:
To Build and Extend the Bell Community: The overarching role of the Board is to help the Bell Museum build successful partnerships, social capital, and support for collaborations. We connect with a variety of constituencies, including legislators, potential donors, schools, the business community, community organizations, the media, and the diverse communities of the University of Minnesota and the state of Minnesota at large.
Specifically, the Board uses its sphere of influence to enhance the reputation and branding of the Bell Museum with:
- Expert Advice
The Board provides expert advice, consultation, feedback and critique, idea generation, financial support and other investments in support of strategy, programming, projects, events, and other activities as requested by the Executive Director of the Bell Museum. - Strong Advocacy
The Board serves as an active advocate for the Bell Museum, with both internal and external constituent groups. The Board assists the museum in achieving strategic priorities and promoting its local, national, and international prominence. The Board builds a strong working relationship with the Executive Director and is responsible for recruiting, selecting, and welcoming new Board members.
The Board places a specific and urgent focus on supporting the Bell’s Diversity, Equity, Accessibility, and Inclusion Action Plan. The Action Plan, adopted in 2021, includes thirteen specific actions collectively aiming to Acknowledge History, Improve Programs, Create an Inclusive Environment, and Be Accountable for Improvements. One specific action is the development and implementation of an Advisory Board Inclusion Plan. In 2019 the Bell was selected to participate in the American Alliance of Museums Facing Change Initiative. The groundbreaking and collaborative work of the Facing Change initiative is energizing and shaping efforts to develop an Advisory Board diverse in its composition and inclusive in its ways of working as a Board and with all stakeholders. As the state’s natural history museum, the Bell Museum belongs to every one of us and the Board both values and strives to serve every Minnesotan. The Inclusion Plan will help develop Board capacity to provide valuable guidance as the Bell Museum pursues all aspects of its mission.
Role of Individual Board Members
1. Actively develops an understanding of the mission, ongoing activities, and operations of the Bell Museum.
2. Regularly attends and actively participates in Board meetings.
a. Board meetings are held three times per year (October through May) with other meetings held as needs arise. Board members are strongly encouraged to attend meetings in order to effectively communicate with each other and with the Bell Museum staff and to get to know each other. Opportunities to attend meetings via Skype or Zoom will be made available for Board members but we also wish to have on-site attendance at least once each year.
b. Active participation includes: staying informed about Board matters; reviewing agendas and other materials prior to Board meetings; contributing ideas, suggestions, comments, and diverse points of view; and contributing to a Board culture of openness, candor, and mutual respect.
3. Actively participates in at least one Board committee. Committees meet at least three times per year. Committee participation may include serving as chair of a committee.
4. Participates in subcommittees or ad-hoc task forces established to address specific needs and requests by the Executive Director or Board Chair.
5. Participates in important Bell Museum public events and offers to volunteer at such events when needed.
6. Contributes expertise by willingly offering to share expertise and knowledge in areas necessary to assist the Bell Museum.
7. Makes a personal financial contribution at a level that is personally meaningful and in accordance with ability. Because the Board is not a fundraising board, even though we expect financial contributions from Board members, they are not selected based on their ability to give.
8. Seeks out qualified people who could be recruited for Advisory Board positions and recommends them as part of the Board’s recruiting process. Participates in new Board member orientation and welcomes new members to the Board.
Time Commitment
In light of the roles and the commitment a Board member makes to fulfilling them, we anticipate that Board members will need to commit a minimum of 40-50 hours per year working on Bell Museum activities. Three Board meetings per year is a commitment of approximately 10 hours; committee meetings may require another 10-15 hours. Additional commitments would include 1:1 consultation with museum leadership or Board Chair, ad-hoc committee or task force meetings, advocacy (in the community, Legislature, and broader University community), public events, and volunteering.
Board Terms
A Board term is three years and begins on October 1. Board members are eligible for reappointment to a second term after three years.
Board Support for Members
The Bell Advisory Board members, and the Bell Executive Director and staff, will make every opportunity to welcome, support, and engage new Advisory Board members. This includes an initial orientation session and opportunities to learn more about the exciting work of the Bell staff and curators. The Executive Director’s administrative assistant also serves as the Board liaison and is available to provide assistance as needed.
Interested in joining the Bell Museum Board?
If you would like to nominate a candidate or are interested in becoming a member of the Bell Museum Advisory Board, please submit your information via the form below.