Meet the Orcas Island Historical Museum’s New Director

Dr. Douglas Brewer comes with his family to Orcas Island. He will be the new Director of the Orcas Island HIstorical Museum

Reprinted upon request from March 22, 2012

By Margie Doyle

The Orcas Island Historical Museum has “unearthed” another treasure,  an archeologist, museum director and online learning administrator, who will move his family to their home in Doe Bay this summer, and assume directorship of the Historical Museum.

Dr. Douglas Brewer has been Executive Director of the Spurlock Museum at the Univeristy of Illinois Urbana/Champagne.  He retired in June and moved across country with his wife and two school-age children to Orcas Island this month.

He welcomes the opportunity to return “home” after 28 years of professional commitment, first as Director of the Spurlock Museum and then as director of the university’s online education program, “which does segue into museums these days,” Brewer says. ” Still, I had an itch to get back into  the directorship of  museums.“

Brewer grew up in eastern Washington and graduated with Bachelors and Masters degrees in anthropology from the University of Washington.  He earned a Ph.D. from the University of Tennessee and was doing his field work in the deserts of Egypt, 60 miles from the closest road, when he applied for the position at University of  Illinois. He didn’t know if  his application had made it through the mails until nearly a month later, when a letter-carrier on the back of a donkey delivered a travel-worn reply offering him the position.

After nearly three decades in the Midwest, though, he is ready to come “home,” to the Pacific Northwest, and to the Orcas Island home that he first built as a bachelor retreat  some twenty years ago. Hi s daughter will be entering high school in September, and his son will be in the 5th grade.

Brewer says the greatest asset of  the Orcas Museum is the community. Without having a director for the past three years, “I’m surprised how well the board has done, not just keeping it going but improving it, moving forward, basically for free.” Brewer cites the Orcas Museum’s compliance with the Native American Repatriation Act and the excellent condition of the museum’s collections. “The museum and the community were right on top of it,” he says.

When asked why he thinks Orcas Museum is in such good shape, he responds without hesitation: the Board. “It’s hands-on and that’s important. You can’t have great ideas and then just walk away. You have to follow through, and this board is all very dedicated. ”

Orcas Historical Museum Plans

Brewer’s plans, developed with the board, start with the “almost invisible” near-term goals of maintaining museum policies and collections and assessing threats, which can be environmental such as a leaky roof or powder beetles, or economic.

Medium-range goals call for development of the museum from a separate institution to one more connected to its community as an interpretive center. “The island is the learning experience,” he says. The museum, through the miracle of the internet technologies, whereby users  can download illustrations and explanations of island history. He compares the scenario to that of National Park, where Visitor’s Centers explain, illustrate and display the greater experience.  “It can enhance the visitor experience and get them around the island without trespassing. ”

Brewer’s long-term vision of museum accreditation is a lofty, but manageable  goal. There are about 17,500 registered museums in the U.S. Of those, less than 1,000 are accredited by the American Association of Museums. It’s a lot of work, he says, “a very high bar; I doubt any one museum can meet all the criteria.

“But we can get to accreditation. The structure is here, the collection quality has been maintained quite well. Some years down the line, I think we’ll be there.” With official accreditation, the museum will be among those “first in the queue” in grant opportunities.

Brewer is excited about the opportunity the Orcas Museum presents him for two reasons. First, although museum directors are especially subject to job burn-out, after being away from his  museum job for four years, he realized, “Hey I’m a museum director. it’s me, that’s what I do.”

Secondly, Brewer says, “I never intended to stay at U of Illinois for 28 years. I’ve worked hard for somebody else’s community and it’s a dream come true to do it for my own community. I can’t wait to start.”

An Executive Director for  the Museum

Board President Bill Buchan said, “Orcas is so fortunate in that highly talented people are attracted to our community, and I believe that being able to consider such a well-qualified individual as Dr. Brewer is an opportunity few museums our size would have.”

The museum board has developed a Memorandum of Understanding with Dr. Brewer to offer him, initially, half-time employment as Executive Director of the Museum, contingent upon available funding.

The board is in search of dedicated funding commitments to make Brewer’s Executive Director position a reality. Board Member Denise Wilk said, “With Dr. Brewer’s background and expertise, his interest in our rural museum is truly a gift that I would like to see us take advantage of. It would really help our Museum to have professional help. It is really exciting to have Dr. Brewer moving to our community.”

The board has targeted $40,000 for the next three years to fund the Executive Director position. Buchan suggested that the total amount can be achieved by obtaining eight “Building Block” funders of $5,000 a year for three years. He points out that the $5,000 commitment could come from individuals or from groups. Contributions to this fund can be sent to the Orcas Island Historical Society at PO Box 134,  Eastsound Washington 98245.  The museum’s email is orcasmuseum@rockisland.com. The museum website is www.orcasmuseum.org