photo by: Kevin Anderson/Journal-World File Photo

The Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St., is pictured in this file photo.

The Lawrence Arts Center is suddenly looking for a new leader after the immediate resignation of chief executive officer Margaret Weisbrod Morris.

Morris resigned her position with the Arts Center on Wednesday, and the board of the nonprofit has not yet determined who will be the interim director of the community’s leading arts organization.

“It was fast,” Meredith Lang, chair of the Lawrence Arts Center board, said of the resignation in a brief interview with the Journal-World.

The Arts Center in its press release did not provide any information about why Morris is leaving or what she plans to do next, but said it is “wishing her the very best in her next act.”

“As both a director and artist, she has been an impassioned supporter of the arts locally, and in her work statewide and nationally,” the board said in a press release. “Margaret’s passion for the arts and her dedication to the LAC have made a welcome impact on our community. She stewarded the Arts Center through a very difficult time during the pandemic and served as a community leader throughout.”

When asked whether the board could provide more information about the reasons surrounding the resignation, Lang said the board was choosing to respect the privacy of Morris. However, Lang stated the resignation was not connected to any impropriety. She said the board was not investigating any impropriety nor was aware of any related to the position.

When reached by the Journal-World, Morris said via email that she had left the position but did not elaborate on why or on any future professional plans.

“I am sad to be leaving this amazing place,” Morris said via email. “Since 2002, I have spent many wonderful years dedicating myself to this organization and community, so this is a bittersweet departure for me.”

Morris said she was proud of efforts to keep the Arts Center open during the pandemic and of the creation of several innovative programs, and said she remained confident in the future of the organization.

“The core of what makes the Arts Center the truly unique and wonderful place it is, is the people,” she said. “The people will be there whether I am there or not. Because of this, I know that the Lawrence Arts Center will continue to thrive and achieve great success in the future.”

Lang said the board plans to announce an interim director in the next 30 days, and that the board is staying in close contact with employees of the center to ensure they have needed support in the meantime.

Lang also said the board will develop a process for hiring the next long-term director for the center. She said the position should be an attractive one. In addition to serving as an exhibition space for art and performances in its downtown location at 940 New Hampshire St., the organization also offers a large number of classes to youth throughout the community.

The organization also has expanded physically in recent years, and may be poised to do so again in the future. In recent years the Arts Center has opened an annex location at 1000 Massachusetts St. to host additional classes and events.

The possibility for a bigger project in the future exists next door to the organization’s main facility on New Hampshire Street. Last year the Arts Center completed the purchase of the former Salvation Army building at the corner of 10th and New Hampshire streets. That purchase gave the Arts Center full access to a vacant lot adjacent to the Arts Center building, which it uses for outdoor programming space. It also gave the Arts Center use of the old Salvation Army building, which is a mix of offices and a gymnasium. The Arts Center currently leases that building to a third party, but has said it will develop plans for the property in the coming years.

Lang told the Journal-World that there is still work for the board to do to spell out what it specifically will be looking for in its next leader, but she said some aspects of it are clear today.

“We believe the Arts Center is an essential part of the life of the community of Lawrence, and we want to make sure it continues to be that by finding a director who will follow in the tradition of supporting the arts and advocating for the arts and making sure that organization will just continue to grow over the next 50 years,” Lang said.

Morris had been with the Arts Center since 2002, first serving as the organization’s education director and later becoming the center’s chief program officer, with a stint in between those positions as a program manager for the Kansas Arts Commission.