Ex-archivist cited ‘intolerable’ climate
When state archives Director Lisa Speer tendered her resignation earlier this week, she told the Department of Arkansas Heritage’s top two officials in her letter that she found the work climate “intolerable.”
“You cannot need and use people for the benefit of the department, while disrespecting and questioning their judgment at every turn,” Speer wrote in her resignation letter dated Tuesday to department Director Stacy
Hurst and Deputy Director Rebecca Burkes. The letter was obtained by the Arkansas
Democrat-Gazette through the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
But Hurst said Friday in a written statement, “I regret that Dr. Speer chose to abandon her post and her staff with no notice and in such an acrimonious way.”
“Dr. Speer went from working under the nominal supervision of an independent commission to working under the normal and routine supervision involved with being a division of a larger state agency,” Hurst said. “Obviously, she was unhappy in her position as she indicates in her letter, but I’m certain she was always treated with the respect she was due. From conversations I’ve had with other staff members, Dr. Speer was respected for her knowledge and expertise in the field of archival science.”
Speer said Friday, “I have not abandoned my staff. I indicated my willingness to Rebecca Burkes to work with Interim Director Tim Schultz on outstanding projects until a new director is hired.”
Speer started as the director of what was then called the state History Commission in June 2013. She was retained by Hurst in July 2016 when the department took over the smaller agency from the DePublic
partment of Parks and Tourism under a law approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature and signed by Gov. Asa Hutchinson, a Republican. She previously was director of special collections and archives for Southeast Missouri State University’s Kent Library from 2001-13. She also worked at libraries at the University of Mississippi and the University of Alabama.
In her letter, Speer said that when she started working at the Arkansas History Commission, she felt her knowledge and experience were valued and carried some weight in decision-making when she was under thenParks and Tourism Department Director Richard Davies.
“Even if he undoubtedly knew, through his years of experience with state government, of a better way to do something that I was trying to accomplish, he supported my work and guided me toward the best solutions,” Speer said.
“With the 2016 transition to the Department of Arkansas Heritage, there has been no guidance, no mentoring, and no support that ultimately did not benefit the agenda of promoting the Department of Heritage at the expense of the ‘divisions’ within it,” Speer wrote. “The mass defections over the last several years clearly illustrate the failure of leadership, as does the need to bring in outside consulting firms to conduct
surveys and focus groups to diagnose the causes of internal dysfunction.”
In her letter, Speer advised Hurst and Burkes, “Please give the next State Archives director the support and respect that s/he deserves. Hire good people. Give them the support and the resources they need to do their job. And let them do their job without constant interference and micromanagement.”
Speer’s salary was $89,636 a year, according to the Arkansas Transparency website.
The archives agency was created as the History Commission by the General Assembly in 1905. Since then, it has been responsible for collecting and preserving the official records and historical materials for the state, according to its website.
Hurst, who was appointed by Hutchinson in December 2014, is paid $120,542 a year, according to the transparency website. She is a former Little Rock city director. She and her husband, Howard Hurst, own and operate Tipton & Hurst florist.
The Arkansas Heritage Department was created in 1975 to preserve and promote the state’s natural and cultural heritage. The agency consists of eight divisions, each with its own special contributions. The director’s office manages general administrative and marketing operations, according to the department’s website.
Hurst said the department has experienced “a great deal of change over the past three years including a new administration, a move to new
offices after 25 years in one location, a new focus on managing for efficiencies, and the addition of a division.
“Changes have been made to centralize administrative management in order to perform more efficiently. We have experienced typical staff turnover like any other agency, but also enjoy many long-term, fantastic employees who are passionate about their work,” she said in her written statement.
“We continue to focus on our Core Values, including collaboration and teamwork. Our work with a staff development professional is focused on improving communication, new employee onboarding and many other factors essential to a strong work environment. We’ve been proactive about listening and making changes, and this endeavor has been well received by employees. I’m proud of this work and excited to continue this effort to grow and strengthen staff involvement and engagement within our organization,” Hurst said.
The director position has been posted to the state jobs website. “I look forward to bringing in new, positive leadership and continuing our work to make the Arkansas State Archives more robust and even more accessible for all Arkansans,” Hurst said.
Tom Dillard, treasurer of the Friends of the Arkansas State Archives and a former department director, wrote Friday on an Arkansas history email distribution list, “I am afraid the Department of Arkansas Heritage Director, Stacy Hurst, has downgraded
the State Historian position to a mere administrative post. The job minimum qualifications makes no mention of Arkansas history.”
But Hurst later responded that the minimum qualifications for all Heritage Department director positions are standardized by the Office of Personnel Management.
“The full job posting lists the preferred qualifications where we can specify what is required of the particular division director,” she wrote.
She said that under state law, the state historian is required to have a doctoral degree in the field of history from an accredited institution of higher education or been determined by the department director to be qualified to perform the duties of state historian. The director would have to consider the person’s academic background, editorial ability, knowledge of and interest in history, and experience in the field of history, and any other factor deemed relevant to perform the functions of the position, she said.