Hazel O’Leary, president of Fisk for the past three years, has made the sale of the O’Keeffe and Hartley paintings the centerpiece of her plan to raise money for the school and replenish its endowment.
The endowment was drained by about $8 million — nearly half its total — to cover operating expenses in the years before O’Leary’s tenure. In previous statements, O’Leary has vowed that Fisk will win the right to sell the art works, asserting the small liberal arts college is not a museum but a school.
Beyond the art sale and stepped up alumni giving appeals, Fisk has not articulated a grand plan for fundraising from local, state or national sources.
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