Alistair Dove, who led Jacksonville\u2019s Museum of Science & History as CEO for two years and helped oversee the organization\u2019s $131 million-plus plan for a new facility, has stepped down.<\/p>\n
MOSH confirmed Dove\u2019s departure Thursday in a news release and in a letter sent by board of trustees chair Jill Davis to the museum\u2019s supporters.<\/p>\n
The organization\u2019s chief development officer, Maureen Mercho, will serve as interim executive director while continuing her chief duties until a permanent replacement is selected, the letter says.<\/p>\n
In an email Thursday to Jacksonville Today, Davis said Dove\u2019s resignation was voluntary.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Dove resigned to pursue new opportunities. We wish him well in the next chapter of his career,\u201d Davis wrote.<\/p>\n
The search for the next CEO will begin soon, and Davis said the board \u201chas just launched a committee to devise a plan and process to search for its next leader.\u201d<\/p>\n
According to Davis, MOSH\u2019s plan to move its museum facility from its 56-year home on\u00a0Downtown\u2019s Southbank to 2.5-acres of the Northbank Shipyards along East Bay Street remains on schedule.<\/p>\n
Alister\u2019s departure comes as the museum\u2019s leadership is trying to get City Council approval on a third change to its redevelopment agreement with the city for the MOSH Northbank museum.\u00a0<\/p>\n
MOSH and the council agreed to defer legislation<\/a> in December that would approve an amendment to its agreement with the city reducing the amount of on-site parking at the new museum from 75 to 30 spaces. The amended deal would also extend MOSH\u2019s deadline to submit final museum designs to the city until the end of January.\u00a0<\/p>\n Museum leaders hit pause on the bill after several council members voiced concerns about MOSH\u2019s plan to replace the on-site parking garage with spaces in the nearby city-controlled parking decks used to service VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena and ballpark about two blocks away.<\/p>\n According to Davis, the deferral and Dove\u2019s departure are unrelated.<\/p>\n \u201cDr. Dove\u2019s resignation is completely independent of and not related to the changed meeting date. MOSH is working closely with the city to address input from a prior meeting, and the deferral allows for a strong and thoughtful proposal back to City Council,\u201d Davis told Jacksonville Today. \u201cWe look forward to reconvening with the City Council at an upcoming meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n A groundbreaking is still expected this year. MOSH closed its Southbank museum in May,<\/a> but the organization plans to continue community outreach and education programs while the new MOSH is built over the next three years.<\/p>\n Davis, who also chairs MOSH\u2019s capital campaign, told the council\u2019s Neighborhoods, Community Services, Health and Safety Committee on Dec. 1 that museum officials have raised $45 million for the new museum outside of the city\u2019s $50 million contribution<\/a>. She said during the meeting MOSH has identified potential donors with $80 million in donation capacity.<\/p>\n MOSH\u2019s latest conceptual design for the building would mean a $106 million facility with exhibits costing an additional $25 million to $35 million, she said. That makes the latest estimates for the new museum as $131 million to $141 million.<\/p>\n According to Davis, museum officials are seeking $5 million from the state of Florida during the 2026 legislative session on top of the $7.5 million Tallahassee has already awarded for the project.<\/p>\n City Council member Jimmy Pelso, who represents the Downtown Northbank, says he had not discussed the circumstances of Dove\u2019s departure with MOSH leadership. But he sees the success of the new museum as \u201cparamount\u201d for Downtown\u2019s success.<\/p>\n \u201cNothing will help make the city, and especially the public spaces on the river, really pop than this awesome museum that\u2019s going to be sitting right there. We all want that,\u201d Pelsuo said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Dove\u2019s MOSH legacy<\/p>\n