Associated Press
Wednesday, December 24, 2008

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 23 -- Trustees of the financially troubled Museum of Contemporary Art have accepted a bailout from billionaire Eli Broad worth as much as $30 million and accepted the resignation of the museum's longtime director, the board said Tuesday.

The Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation promised to match donations to the museum's en dowment up to $15 million and to give another $15 million over five years toward exhibitions, the trustees said in a statement.

"Today's actions provide the cornerstone for the sustainability of MOCA," David Johnson, board co-chairman, said in a statement.

The museum has a respected collection of works produced since 1940, but has recently suffered from severe money shortages. Its permanent collection has nearly 6,000 works.

The Broad funding will be part of an overall campaign to raise $75 million for endowment and operating expenses, the museum's announcement said.

MOCA took Broad's deal over a merger proposed by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Broad, founding chairman of MOCA in 1979, said it was in the best interests of Los Angeles for MOCA to remain independent. In a statement, he said MOCA's Grand Avenue location is an asset to downtown revitalization and is a position that displays its collection to the broadest audience.

The board accepted the resignation of Jeremy Strick, MOCA's director for nine years, and replaced him with Charles E. Young, who was chancellor of UCLA for 29 years and president of the University of Florida for four years. Young will be the museum's first chief executive officer and will oversee day-to-day operations.