Nearly two dozen employees have left the Wexner Center for the Arts (the Wex) at Ohio State University (OSU) since Canadian curator Gaëtane Verna assumed the role of executive director in late 2022, indicating a 28% turnover rate in under two years. As first reported by the Columbus Dispatch and corroborated by Hyperallergic, the high employee attrition has led to low staff morale and fundraising struggles attributed to Verna’s conduct throughout her tenure.
Hyperallergic interviewed four current and former staffers, all of whom requested anonymity out of concern for retaliation, who accused Verna of staff mistreatment, impulsive and unilateral decision-making, hostility toward the union, and insufficient fundraising efforts. Several staffers with a decade or more of service have resigned from their positions after less than two years under Verna’s leadership; some of them opted for a demotion or didn’t have anything lined up upon their exit at all.
In response to Hyperallergic’s request for comment, Verna said that she couldn’t comment on specific allegations, but expressed that she “strive[s] to foster a welcoming, collaborative and supportive work environment in keeping with Ohio State’s values and expectations.”
“Ohio State, leadership at the Wexner Center for the Arts, and I myself always take workplace complaints seriously,” Verna continued. “[The university] has investigated any reported concerns and found that they do not require further action at this time.”
A spokesperson for Ohio State University confirmed that the workplace complaints were investigated and “found not to require further action at this time.” Employee concerns “are always taken seriously and investigated quickly and thoroughly,” the spokesperson added.
An employee currently working at the institution told Hyperallergic that Human Resources hasn’t checked in with the team in the three weeks since the Dispatch’s report went out.
A list of staff members who left the center since Verna’s appointment obtained by the Dispatch and reviewed by Hyperallergic show that upon their departure, multiple employees complained of “low staff morale,” “poor leadership,” “being overworked,” and being made to feel undervalued or incapable of performing their roles.
“Verna doesn’t really understand the need for a union,” one source, a current employee, told Hyperallergic. “She doesn’t understand that people are struggling to put food on the table. She thinks these positions at the Wex are ‘starter jobs,’ but people work at the Wex and the university because even though the pay isn’t that high, it’s a state job with a pension and really good benefits — which are pretty much unheard of in the arts sector.”
The source explained that when people take a job at the Wex, they hope to work there until retirement. “What’s sad is that people have left very close to retirement — with 20 to 25 years under their belt — because working under Verna was just too much,” they said.
Several people who spoke with Hyperallergic recounted being screamed at or belittled by Verna in one-on-one situations as well as staff meetings, and mentioned that they’ve witnessed her do the same to others. They also accused her of speaking negatively about staff to other members of the Columbus arts community, setting unattainable deadlines, and lashing out at those who expressed opinions or offered suggestions contrasting with her vision for curation, operations, and other departments.
“One thing that stuck out to me is that Verna would make these impulsive decisions that impacted the whole center without consulting anybody with relevant information that would help her,” a former employee another source explained. “There was also no explanation regarding her decision-making processes — she wouldn’t help people understand the why, which is a key part of leadership. She just dictated the terms, and targeted anyone who questioned her.”
A representative for the workers’ union at the Power Plant Contemporary Art Gallery (TPP) in Toronto, which formed while Verna was the artistic director, told Hyperallergic that the union is in solidarity with Wexner staff and confirmed that the employee testimonials about Verna’s behavior there mirrored the experiences of workers at the TPP.
Only a few complaints about Verna were filed officially, and many staff members would express their concerns in informal conversations with the Wex’s Human Resources department, workers said. Those who spoke with Hyperallergic explained that they feared they would be retaliated against if they filed a formal complaint.
The Wexner has been navigating financial issues since the COVID-19 pandemic, compounded by the controversy surrounding the center’s namesake funder Les Wexner, former retail magnate and known associate of Jeffrey Epstein. Wexner’s step-down from his business conglomerate L Brands in 2021 dried up a monetary reservoir for the center, which relied on the company’s annual fundraising campaigns that brought in millions. OSU has stepped in to provide funds for the Wex, including a $4 million allocation slated to expire in fiscal year 2026 to plug the gap.
Still floundering, the Wex has tightened its spending while Verna and the development team (which is down to two employees) navigate fundraising. Additionally, two union employees were terminated earlier this year due to budgetary concerns.
“Layoffs were expected for fiscal year 2026, since the university’s remaining financial support is slated to expire then and we would have to make some major cutbacks if the Wex’s fundraising wasn’t back on track,” a source currently at the center, told Hyperallergic, expressing that they and the other employees were blindsided by the two terminations that appeared far ahead of what was projected.
Verna has been accused of neglecting relationships with longtime donors to the center, and also denying Wex employees opportunities to connect with her existing network as well, as expressed to Hyperallergic and outlined in the Dispatch report.
“She hasn’t made a lot of connections in town yet, and it doesn’t seem like she’s been focusing on making these types of relationships one needs to build in order to bring in the necessary fundraising to sustain the Wex,” a former employee opined, adding that there have been no new trustees at the center this year.
Verna told Hyperallergic that she has prioritized engaging with long-time supporters of the Wexner, and explained that the center’s forthcoming fundraising plan for the next three years will “strengthen, expand and diversify the center’s fundraising sources,” noting that the center will “hire associates who can best leverage [her] international network in concert with Ohio State’s advancement team and university resources.”
A new fundraising head is slated to start at the Wex on October 7.
