Ward Museum donor speaks out, calls on SU to transfer his donation

SALISBURY, Md. – On the heels of months of vehement opposition to moving the Ward Museum of Wildfowl Art, a longtime donor and supporter is now speaking out, requesting Salisbury University move his donation somewhere else.

“They have no appreciation of the significance of these pieces of artwork and the annals of conservation history,” those were the words to Salisbury University from Dr. John Juriga, a longtime donor and volunteer of the Ward Museum.

Dr. Juriga is calling on Salisbury University, who earlier this year announced they were moving the museum to a new location, to move the tens of thousands of dollars worth of artwork he donated to another nonprofit.

“I had requested that the artwork, the Green Heron carving as well as the Hines artwork, be transferred to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service archives in Shepardstown, West Virginia,” Dr. Juriga said. “I was not asking for it to be returned but transferred to an institution where it would be stored safely and appreciated.”

In 2015, Dr. Juriga and his wife donated a wildfowl art carving titled “Green Heron and Mangroves” by Ernie Muehlmatt to the Ward Museum in memory of their friend Sam Dyke, a founding father of the museum. In addition, Dr. Juriga donated over 40 additional pieces of art by Bob Hines, a renowned wildfowl artist and former staff artist for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

47 ABC News spoke to Salisbury University’s spokesperson Jason Rhodes who would only say they would consider a loan, and when pressed further, he refused to elaborate.

“The University is considering a long term loan of the property,” Rhodes stated as we pressed further, asking if they would consider outright donating to a different museum. “At this point we’re considering a long term loan of the artwork.”

While Dr. Juriga acknowledges the artwork is no longer his property, he feels the spirit of the donation is being compromised.

“To me, it’s very unsettling,” Dr. Juriga stated. “The artwork could be loaned out to another center and then requested back, so I would like to see a permanent home for this collection of artwork. I would like to see some interest expressed on behalf of Salisbury University in terms of transparency regarding their plans and their understanding and appreciation of the collection.”

The Ward Museum’s galleries on Schumaker Pond have been closed to the public since last year following a prolonged failure of the building’s HVAC system that officials say created unsafe environmental conditions, which led to the development and spread of surface mold on carvings and other pieces of artwork.

While the doors to the Schumaker Pond location may be closed, SU officials say the doors to the new location, at the Powell Building in Downtown Salisbury, should be open by the time the Maryland Folk Festival gets underway on September 22nd.

“We’ve recently received the certificate of occupancy for the building meaning that the building will be open for the Maryland Folk Festival,” Rhodes explained. “Construction and renovations have been completed. Exhibits have not yet been moved in, we’re hoping to do that towards the end of the year and then an announcement will go out once the exhibits are ready to view, but the building itself will be open for the Maryland Folk Festival.”

Rhodes tells us all of the artwork is currently being housed in climate controlled storage both on and off campus. SU says the new location will allow for the collection to be more accessible and connected to the community.

The Ward Foundation became an affiliated foundation of Salisbury University in 2000. As part of that agreement, the University took ownership of the building, the grounds, the collection, and their debt.