A Response to Virginia Hepner | Posted on October 18, 2014
While I was in London, I missed a curious tidbit from the labor dispute between the musicians of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO), and the management of the Woodruff Arts Center (WAC) who have locked them out.
In brief, the musicians had raised questions about the actions of WAC Chairman Doug Hertz while he was serving on the Board of Administrators for Tulane University. The musicians noted that Hertz was involved in a series of controversial cost-cutting actions directed against Tulane’s tenured faculty, and compared these actions with his similar cost-cutting plans at the ASO.
The curious point is that WAC President Virginia Hepner gave a strongly-worded defense of Hertz’s actions, as well as the actions of the WAC as a whole.
Her full quote reads:
The protracted financial challenges at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra are very serious and threaten the health of the entire Woodruff Arts Center. The ASO has had 12 years of accumulated deficits, a severe reduction in its endowment and an annual operating gap that we cannot afford to continue. Over the last eight months, ou team has proposed many potential scenarios to the musicians in an attempt to find a solution to the problem. We continue to ask the musicians for constructive ideas to help us address these challenges and we are frustrated that they have turned a deaf ear to the situation. We are saddened that they are attempting to disparage the reputation of Doug Hertz, our chairman. He is widely recognized as one of the most successful and generous leaders in Atlanta and we feel extremely fortunate to have his ongoing support at The Woodruff Arts Center. Our fervent hope is that a federal mediator will bring calm to the protests, picketing and petitions and get us back to meaningful progress at the negotiating table.
I take great issue with this statement, and want to post a quick rebuttal.
While I was in London, I missed a curious tidbit from the labor dispute between the musicians of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (ASO), and the management of the Woodruff Arts Center (WAC) who have locked them out.
In brief, the musicians had raised questions about the actions of WAC Chairman Doug Hertz while he was serving on the Board of Administrators for Tulane University. The musicians noted that Hertz was involved in a series of controversial cost-cutting actions directed against Tulane’s tenured faculty, and compared these actions with his similar cost-cutting plans at the ASO.
The curious point is that WAC President Virginia Hepner gave a strongly-worded defense of Hertz’s actions, as well as the actions of the WAC as a whole.
Her full quote reads:
The protracted financial challenges at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra are very serious and threaten the health of the entire Woodruff Arts Center. The ASO has had 12 years of accumulated deficits, a severe reduction in its endowment and an annual operating gap that we cannot afford to continue. Over the last eight months, ou team has proposed many potential scenarios to the musicians in an attempt to find a solution to the problem. We continue to ask the musicians for constructive ideas to help us address these challenges and we are frustrated that they have turned a deaf ear to the situation. We are saddened that they are attempting to disparage the reputation of Doug Hertz, our chairman. He is widely recognized as one of the most successful and generous leaders in Atlanta and we feel extremely fortunate to have his ongoing support at The Woodruff Arts Center. Our fervent hope is that a federal mediator will bring calm to the protests, picketing and petitions and get us back to meaningful progress at the negotiating table.
I take great issue with this statement, and want to post a quick rebuttal.