Eric Dorfman has new role in US

NEW JOB: Dr Eric Dorfman leaves Whanganui for Pittsburgh and a new museum directorship. PICTURE / WHANGANUI REGIONAL MUSEUM

Dr Eric Dorfman is moving on, relinquishing his role as director of the Whanganui Regional Museum for a bigger, more prestigious role in the US.
He is going to take up the position of director of the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, one of a cluster of four architecturally grand educational and research centres in the former steel town.
"The environment is packed with engaged intellectuals and students," says Eric, as he describes the wonder and relevance of these centres and the city of Pittsburgh.
It's a position of huge importance in an institution of world renown, and they found their new director in Wanganui, New Zealand.
"I've met my new board," says Eric, "I've skyped to a bunch of the new staff ... it's incredibly exciting, but it's also really sad to be going. I was not looking to leave but this was an opportunity so outstanding. This is one of the five major natural history museums in the US."
Eric writes a regular blog in which he reminisces about his time here and talks about some highlights of his 25-year out-of-States experience. He leaves us having tasted a very different culture from his native California and, according to a journalist in Pittsburgh at least, a trace of a Kiwi accent.
"I'm writing the introduction to the Annual Report from the last financial year ... and there's some emotion in there, really, because Whanganui has been very good to me. Of course New Zealand has as well; I moved to New Zealand as a scientist and I'm leaving as a museum director. It has been a huge growth curve and there are so many people that I'm so grateful to."
Eric has been associated with the museum for almost five years, commencing as director in 2010, his tenure coinciding with that of a new Mayor, Annette Main.
His time here has peppered his speech with Maori vocabulary and broadened his already vast depository of knowledge.
Accomplishments?
Eric is certainly proud of The Moa Gallery. "Having the largest collection on display of moa material, that's an incredible thing.
"Visitation statistics, which have been astounding," he says. "What that is, is a report card. People have responded to what we have done and that is about being more customer focused and being more strategic around understanding what our customers need. During my time the vision for the museum has become Aotearoa/New Zealand's most welcoming and relevant whare taonga."
The rebranding of the museum and the public and iwi consultation that went before is another facet of his time here of which Eric is particularly proud. He also points to the on-line logo, representing Te Mata o Hoturoa, the waka taua that fills the Maori Court. The shape of the canoe is made up of icons to represent some of the best loved treasures in the museum. Members of the public are invited to suggest their own favourites and include a picture with their ideas.
"As far as I know, it's the world's first interactive museum logo, and that's an exciting innovation," he says. "We've had all kinds of world firsts. I don't know of another museum in the world that has a bi-cameral governance structure with its tangata whenua, whoever they are in whatever country. We have an institution that, by its very nature, is unique and forward thinking, and all the initiatives we're doing are following on from that."
These are concepts Eric wants to take with him to the US.
"I have been shaped as a director a lot by being in Whanganui, especially with respect to authentic voices of tangata whenua."
Eric is president of ICOM NATHIST (International Council of Museums Committee for Museums and Collections of Natural History).
"Our next meeting is in Taiwan in October, at the Taiwan National Museum, and one of the things we've been talking about is some sort of project that relates to the Taiwanese hill tribes, which seem to be the progenitors of Maori, to connect here and there in some sort of crossover project. I'm not going to walk away and not think of Whanganui again. My perspective has deepened, and that is not only from the staff and the board, but members of the community who have engaged with me meaningfully; like John Maihi and the kaumatua kaunihera, to whom I owe an incredible debt to the success of my relationships here."
Eric's association with Whanganui began with an Easter canoe trip down the river. From there he worked as a senior scientist with DoC, visiting here frequently.
"The key thing that gave me the desire to be here was the stupendous collection. Hand on heart, it is the best regional collection in the country. The depth, the breadth and the provenance of some of it is magnificent. This is an internationally recognised museum, and my getting this role from Whanganui is proof of that."
Eric acknowledges that his time here has given him opportunities unavailable in larger centres. Among other things he has been vice-president of the Chamber of Commerce, chair of Visit Whanganui and he is on the Board of Whanganui and Partners. He says Mayor Annette Main has also helped to make his job enjoyable. "I owe her a huge debt of gratitude just for creating a civic landscape that is so easy to work in. The whole concept of partnering authentically with the community is not something you often find in a council perspective."
He has also been chair of ICOM New Zealand and on the board of Museums Aotearoa, doing both of those jobs for most of his time here. "The New Zealand museum community has been fantastic," he says.
"One of the things I focused strongly on at the beginning was getting the systems and structures in place to ensure business continuity, so when, as it turned out, the New Zealand museum community and the Whanganui civic governance communities felt they need my help, I was free to go and contribute that way. That is something that has been of such primary importance to me. Everything I have done at this museum is about anticipating risk and putting in structures that would help us deal with that."
Eric arrived on the job at an uncertain time, when the museum needed to think about its own existence, a far cry from its strong position of today.
"The staff have always been of such high calibre and now we're at a point where we can release their expertise in a secure environment. I really have to thank council staff, especially Sally [Patrick] and Pete [Gray], because they have worked with us through that period."
Eric is sure that the museum is no longer a "nice to have" but is actually a key piece of Whanganui infrastructure.
"I hope there is an opportunity to continue to give back to Whanganui, proportionate to my debt of gratitude," he says.
Eric finishes at the Whanganui Regional Museum on July 31, starting his new job a month later.
He takes with him our best wishes and a promise to keep in touch.