Carol Bintz has lived her dream for almost two decades.  And in turn, the Toledo Museum of Art hasn’t dreamed of running without her since the early ’90s.

Bintz took the chief operating officer position at the museum last fall for the second time during her career. The appointment follows former interim director and COO Rod Bigelow, who left for a job in Arkansas.

She graduated from Tiffin University with an accounting degree and a computer science minor. Bintz started a family before tackling college. Had she not waited, she probably would have gone straight to school for art, she said.

Thus, working in the museum and managing money is the perfect match — and a chance to learn more every day, she said.

“The Toledo Museum of Art was the museum that I went to as a child and as an adult,” Bintz said. “It was kind of a dream come true.”

Bintz’ favorite works of art fluctuate depending on the day, from impressionist classics or contemporary glasswork. What hasn’t fluctuated is her dedication to the museum’s mission, she said.

Before she worked at the museum, she spent time as the state examiner for the state auditor, was the accounting officer at a bank and then worked for a glass industry factory. The museum hired her as the controller in the ’90s, but she soon stepped up to the COO role.

She was in that position for about 14 years but left in 2008 to be the development officer for business and planned giving. After accruing more donors and sponsors over the past couple years, she has taken the COO role again.

As COO, she oversees finances, human resources, security, technology and other elements of museum operations. Managing the budget has gotten difficult lately; the economic downturn has weakened donation and investment-based income, she said.

Keeping the museum free at all times has gotten tricky at times but is a must to keep in line with the museum’s objectives, Bintz said.

“Our real goal is to be accessible to everyone and we would not want an admission charge to stand in the way of someone taking part of what we do,” she said. “We’ve thought about doing it but it defeats the heart of our mission.”

Bintz has a slew of prized accomplishments during her work in the past as COO. She’s most proud of her involvement of the Glass Pavilion construction. As head of the project team, she worked with the design team and was responsible for the budget.

Keeping financial concerns in mind also led her and museum officials to step up on utility efficiency. The building has reduced electrical use by at least 70 percent since 1992, Bintz said. More efficient lighting, better devices to produce heat and solar panels on the roof have helped cut costs, she said.

The museum installed the first round of panels in 2003 and has more waiting to be installed as soon as weather permits, Bintz said.

The goals Bintz has for her latest appointment include forming plans to keep the museum in step with the evolving virtual world. It’s too early to say what the plans are, however, the changes are exciting, Bintz said.

Tags: Carol Bintz, Toledo Museum of Art

This entry was posted on Saturday, January 29th, 2011 at 9:18 am and is filed under Arts and Life, Toledo Museum of Art.
You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.