Minnesota Historical Society CEO who added more inclusive voices to retire

Minnesota Historical Society CEO and director Stephen Elliott, who aimed to tell the state's full history through new departments for American Indian initiatives, inclusion and community engagement, will retire next June.

Elliott, 68, who has held the post for seven years, said he's leaving now so his wife Diane, a deacon with the Episcopal Church, can take a position with a congregation in Ontario.

"I will be in the position of being the trailing spouse. I am glad to do it," he said.

A firm with ties to the Smithsonian Institution has been hired to help find Elliott's successor. According to tax filings, he made nearly $342,000 in salary and benefits in 2016.

Elliott is credited with raising annual attendance to more than 1 million across the state's 26 historic sites, overseeing the renovation of the Oliver Kelley Farm in Sherburne County, and leading the campaign to revitalize Historic Fort Snelling.

"Steve's work and many accomplishments in the area of diversity and inclusion serve as a model for museums around the country," said Laura L. Lott, president and CEO of the American Alliance of Museums.

Elliott said he simply built on the strong work and research already happening at the Historical Society, considered one of the nation's best.

That included adding a director of Native American Initiatives and hiring two history Ph.D.s of Dakota and Ojibwe descent. A gallery dedicated to Indian history and culture will open at the Minnesota History Center in St. Paul in fall 2019.

Acknowledging Indian history at Fort Snelling was another priority. "We can't do a good job of talking about the history of Fort Snelling without talking about the fact people have been at that site for 10,000 years," he said.

Elliott oversaw the $15 million renovation of the Kelley Farm, drawing a line from Minnesota's agrarian past to the agribusiness based in the state today.

Elliott stood at the helm during two high-profile spats between the Historical Society and Gov. Mark Dayton. The society took a stand against Dayton in 2016, ordering the return of Civil War artwork to the newly renovated State Capitol despite the governor's objections.

Months later, Dayton led the effort to strip the society of its authority as the state's preservation office, a role it had held since 1969. The governor's office, which cited inefficiencies as the rationale, will oversee the preservation office starting in 2018.

The Minnesota Historical Society is a nonprofit that is independent of the state but relies on it for nearly 60 percent of its $60 million-plus annual budget.

"People take their history very seriously here. They are very engaged," Elliott said. "History isn't about yesterday. History is the context for the world we live in today."

Shannon Prather • 612-673-4804