Shaker Village President Leaving for Cape Cod Museum
 Ellen Spear has lead the museum into forays as high-tech as solar power and as low-tech as a farm trail, and through its 50th anniversary year. |
Her resignation was announced Monday afternoon by the chairman of the living history museum's board of trustees, Mary Rentz.
"It is with great sadness that the Board of Trustees of Hancock Shaker Village announces Ellen Spear's resignation," Rentz said in the statement. "Ellen's leadership has been transformative for our museum, and has laid a strong foundation for its long-term vitality and sustainability. We wish her the very best as she moves on to Cape Cod."
Heritage has been searching for a director for a year.
During her tenure, Spear guided Hancock Shaker Village through institutionwide planning that created a strategic plan, a business plan, and a comprehensive 20-year master plan that assessed the current condition and the future restoration needs of the National Historic Landmark. Under her direction, major restoration has been undertaken to numerous buildings, including the Brethrens' Shop, the Horse Barn, the Round Stone Barn and, most recently, the Trustees' Office and Store. She also was instrumental in the establishment of Berkshire Creative in 2006 and serves on its board.
However, she said her proudest moment has been the village's educational programming.
"I'm most proud of our collaboration with the University of Massachusetts," Spear said in a phone interview. "This has helped us become a center for preservation education so that we can raise the next generation of preservationists. This generation will help us care for the many historical sites in the Berkshires. It also fulfills the stewardship goals that were so important to the Shakers."
In addition to reinvigorating the educational focus at the village, she also focused on creating an identity for the village as a place for the study of principled living in the 21st century by shining a spotlight on sustainability, renewable energy, land stewardship and agriculture throughout the historic site. A lesson she plans to take with here to the Heritage.
"I've learned at Hancock how important it is to have a sense of place," she said. "This is a spot on the map that's inspiring and compelling to people. The staff and the board have created a compelling program. It's going to be very interesting to think about how we balance this sense of place with the limitless options of cyberspace. I think crafting any museum in this way is going to be the greatest challenge to the history field especially."
The village under Spear's direction has demonstrated success in achieving this balance as a living history site. Numerous major grants were awarded to Hancock Shaker Village, including from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the 1772 Foundation and the Massachusetts Cultural Council. Just this month, it was awarded a $1 million grant from the Kresge Foundation in recognition of its leadership in the community. As Spear moves on to the Heritage, she said that she is looking forward to working with its surrounding community.
"The Heritage has a wonderful history and some very compelling resources," she said. "I have been so very fortunate to have lived in this beautiful place. It's not that far away from where I am going. It is going to be very hard to go."
The board will appoint an interim director shortly and will conduct a national search for a new director. Spear's final day will be March 26. She did offer some words of wisdom to her yet unnamed predecessor.
"Listen to this site, listen to this place, walk the land," she said. "Do a lot of looking and listening and reading about these people called the Shakers."
