MILWAUKEE COUNTY

Dennis Kois abruptly resigns as CEO of Milwaukee Public Museum after an affair allegation investigated

Don Behm

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Dennis Kois, president and CEO of the Milwaukee Public Museum, has abruptly resigned, citing personal reasons, following the museum board's investigation of an alleged affair between Kois and a staff member.

Milwaukee Public Museum President and CEO Dennis Kois resigned Tuesday.

Kois announced his resignation at the end of a museum board meeting Tuesday after approval of the museum's 2019 budget, board member Thad Nation said. His last day will be Friday.

The resignation followed the board's "ongoing discussions" with Kois about rumors of an affair, Nation said. The rumors surfaced a few months ago and the board took the allegations seriously, he said.

The board did not substantiate the allegation and Kois "assured the board that the rumors were false," Nation said.

Kois and his wife, Stacey Schmidt, jointly filed for a collaborative divorce in March of this year in Ozaukee County Circuit Court, according to online state court records.

The sudden departure of Kois, hired to lead the museum in February 2014, comes as museum officials are searching for a new location in downtown Milwaukee to build a state-of-the-art natural history museum at a cost of at least $100 million.

Museum officials are considering 10 possible locations at this time, and the fundraising campaign for the project is expected to launch next year, according to Nation.

Ellen Censky, senior vice president and academic dean for the museum, will serve as acting president and CEO, while the museum board conducts a nationwide search for a successor.

The search will get started later this year, Nation said. There is no specific timetable for selecting the next museum director, he said.

Censky had 10 years of experience in leading natural history museums in Oklahoma and Connecticut before taking her current job at MPM in 2008. She previously worked 20 years at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh and has done field research on biodiversity in Costa Rica, Paraguay, British West Indies, Dominican Republic and in the U.S.

Nation praised Kois as "an effective leader."

"The museum is financially secure and well-positioned to continue our efforts to build our future home to serve the community for decades to come," Nation said in a statement.

Kois did not respond to a request for an interview regarding the reason for his resignation.