are very happy to be able in a moment to announce our new director. but i want to acknowledge all of you who are here, particularly trustees who are here who have been enormously supportive of this effort to find a new director. it has been quite a long procedure, although it was no longer than the search for john buchannon. both searchers took about 13 months. my selection committee which was 13 people and i would like to thank them for their participation and in particular the search committee voted to appoint this particular individual in january and they have been able to keep the secret of this person until today. and i really commend them because it's a very hard secret to keep and i know that there have been

many rumors of names of people, 6 that i know of in particular including my dog twin kel but i started that myself. they have been able to keep the secrets of the board and this particular individual. so i want to thank all of them for their loyalty and support to the museum and which i very much appreciate. we have an outstanding group of trustees and their love for this institution is as astounding but rightfully deserved. thanks to all the trustees i see in this room today and i want to say how much i appreciate the staff. we have an outstanding staff at this museum. they are a happy lot and a confident group of people. i have worked with them for years and enjoy every moment with them and i

would like to say they enjoy working with me as well. they are very excited at the announcement of a new director but they have been functioning very well with our deputy director who has been here as a deputy director since september and has done an excellent job and we look forward to having him with our new director. so, it gives me great pleasure to announce our new director is collin bailey who is the deputy director of the museum and the curator of the department. the selection committee spent a great deal of time looking at what direction to pursue

looking for a great director, we spent months before we found john buchannon, and i think that john did that for us admirably and we did in fact become the great exhibition museum. our next step is we believe to focus on our own collections and elevate ourselves intellectually and to have a leader who was a scholar and known internationally as a scholar and someone who would elevate this new museum in our direction and art in this museum now exhibition based on the collections we have and further the name of the fine arts museum in this area, i think there is no one better than that collin berry, he's

knowledgeable in every area of art, not just european art which is his specialty. he's a very delightful person and i know our staff will love working with him. i think he's watching this somewhere in the world. collin, whenever you are, i can't wait to have you here. he is a lot of fun and i did tell all of the staff that we would look for somebody who is a great leader for this institution but also somebody who is fun because john was really fun and i feel we have fulfilled every qualification that we were looking for. his start date is june 1st, but he'll come out here in a short time. i would like to introduce our san francisco leader, mayor

lee and we really value his input and the great he's here today to honor us. mayor lee? [ applause ] >> thank you, first of all let me tell you how i'm excited about being here. i always get excite when i come here. i want to signal my appraise for the board of trustees. you just did a marvelous job time and time again with the board of trustees to keep the confidence not only in this honor but our cultural view in general. i just came back from paris toond -- and to let you know, last time i was in paris i was a

high school student. now to be introduced to mayor, he's an arts expert, so kudos to the board of trust cease, -- the staff, to all of the members and would be members, quickly get your admissions into this because it's going to continue being great. many of you know i work hard for the city. i have always worked hard for the st e but one of the reasons i do is because so many others work so hard for the city. i can't see more reflected for the city. the factor why we are a number of world destinations to come to whether it paris or china, the golden gate park, the

legion of honor, this very exhibit that we are doing now with the girl with the pearl earning is just drawing wonderful crowds. last year, it drew 1.6 million visitors. that's an incredible number. then to add to that, both museums combined together service over 250,000 children and families. this is an incredible part of what our city is. i know that you know i have been working hard to attract different businesses, create more jobs in the city, provide more housing, all in an effort to make the city more successful but i will always say, that as people like you and the board of trustees that provide us with a reason why the work hard to keep this city great as an international city to make sure we do all the things because arts, oftentimes

when you talk to the employees of all the technology companies that i have been talking with every week and ask them what draws their talent to a city, the first three things they know whether it's public transportation, it's also the arts. because that's what keeps their creative mind functioning. and it's these institutions with their wonderful service and their continuing exhibitions, world renown exhibitions that introduce and keep their minds active and keeps the tremendous amounts of visitors coming to our city. i know how difficult it has been for board and for the president to make quick search, to matchup the right person with such an incredible institution as these are. i for one, know how difficult it is and when you are trying to do that when you are running government, i want to also say to the staff that i enjoyed mr.

buchannon's leadershipa as much as you do, to fill those shoes with mr. bailey i'm excited because i trust the board of trustees, the time you took to select him, i'm going to welcome mr. bailey and look forward to and excited to do it. this city is on such a great recovery economically for everybody that there is going to be even that many more families that are going to enjoy the institutions that we have here. so on that background and with that effort, i just want to congratulate the board again, thank you to the staff. i know that the attendance is going to continue increasing. i know the contributions to not only art

but just to the way we live in our city is going to continue because of this institution, the institutions that you are in charge of. so i'm here to just be a part of this experience, to welcome mr. bailey but to also know that your mayor is looking out and being a part of this institution and i want you to know that i am very happy to be a part of the boards effort and staff's effort to continue this great institution and all the wonderful work you do. it's my pleasure to be here and we'll continue to make all the success it has been for many many decades. thank you very much. [ applause ] >> well, thank you very much. i'm also very happy to say that on march 12th, we had our

millionth visitor of our fiscal year that doesn't finish until june 30. i think we'll have another record breaking year. all of our wonderful shows this year and exhibitions are doing very very well. so a week ago wednesday, we had over 13,000 visitors in this museum. so we are really on a roll as the mayor said and we look forward to many many more successes and with collin as our new leader, i know he's going to come up with some wonderful exhibitions. we are now going to have a videotape which someone is going to create. is that correct?

>> [film] i always say that our search was the same to raise or persona intellectually and to my selection committee, what we have to do is find the finest person there is and i think we have been able to do that. >> after an exhaustive international search the board of trustees selected collin bailey. >> when i was in the indemnity panel. i was wondering how is it they have these shows? i was very impressed with this energy and really didn't quite

understand how this had happened but could see it had happened. >> after the tragedy death of our director. we had to figure out how to reinvent ourselves and go to the next level. we found the right person to be to say he's of that stature, is a really a great thing for us. they know your name and they will google you and i can't wait until they do. >> you will find he studied at the post in malibu, the kendall in fort worth and he's been awarded the prize for best art history book. >> i don't want to get bound up with one approach. i want to go back to a very fundamental obligation of the museum which is to conserve, to show, to

communicate and educate. a museum is a place of enlightenment anden enjoyment. both of those are important. >> dr. bailey has been deputy director and chief -- i can feel comfortable with and admire and to be honest, the fact that the fine arts museums of san francisco, in a way are the moment in one and serve like as that for this vibrant community. i'm really excited. i know there is lots of support. what's so exciting in the visits i have made to san

francisco is how welcome you feel. that sense of a home, of a place, regardless of size, is very important. and it was thrilling to me to see that there is already suchen enthusiasm for the audience. >> he's talking about the art itself. just listen to the way he enters these works from -- >> who was the goddess of fertility of flowers, of spring, it brings in the regeneration, if you like and this is a fantastic painting by one of the greatest 18th century artist, at the top of his game. this is the most flamboyant, exciting paint is

of this artist. and we do feel that everything is possible. >> we can't, when we look but think of fertility and of femininity, some sense of generation. we can smell the perfume. >> to rembrandt. >> his mistress, incarcerated. he won't change the way he paints. >> some of dr. bailey's observation about his own experience with art museums. >> you have to have real commitment and belief in your vision in what you believe is right and yes you have to be flexible and malleable to a certain degree but you keep going. i think that is case of a great artist. >> we are finally led to

another of the museum's great treasures by wayne tibo. >> how happy one feels to look at these objects. a painting talks about more than what we can have, about consumerism but also about childhood pleasure. i love this artist. when i look at this, i feel happy. >> [ applause ] >> okay. we now have a brief question and answer period if anyone has any questions? no?

okay. >> i have one. [inaudible] what changes do you for see for the museum of collins coming here? >> well, i think what he'll do, first of all i think he'll take his time getting to know the museum and the staff really evaluating because especially because we have 2 museums. it's really a matter of becoming familiar with both of them, they are very different in character. i think it will take several months to getting to know all the aspects of the museums and then he'll make very serious evaluations and take a very serious look at our department and evaluate whether we have the finest people we

can have and are we running the department in the best way possible and other departments as well. this is not my area of expertise. i'm the board president, ideal with the trustees, and the deputy director runs the museums. i'm sure there will be many conversations between the deputy director and the director should he choose to keep the director, because the director has the ability to remove anyone he wishes to remove. i'm sure he won't do that right away but he will do whatever he feels will strengthen this museum. that will be up to him. i know what he'll do is what he believes is the right thing for this museum. that's why we hired him. >> about timing. i think you said the -- [inaudible] there

was a meeting on march 4, so the trustees met 2 hours before the announcement. i was wondering about the timing of that? >> the selection committee was formed a year ago january. and we met all through the year. we had 8 finalist and these people were brought in to meet with the committee. there are 13 people on the selection committee. there were a number of names that were considered, more names than the 8. we narrowed it down to 8 and then we brought them in and out of the 8 there were 3 finalist and those 3 finalist were brought in a number of times. you can imagine trying to get 13 people with lives and 8 people who are directors who are high up in

museums to come in and then be anonymous when you wanted to bring them to the museums and not let the staff recognize them because they are recognizable people with really in incredibly difficult task. you have some months where directors are running their own exhibitions and with trustees that have children out of school and it's difficult to get these people together. and that was when we are were doing the search for john buchannon as well. so finally in january, the selection committee voted to appoint collin bailey. however, we had to be in sync with his board and he was not able to inform his board until yesterday. that was the time lapse and that is why we canceled the march 14th board meeting because there was no

point to have it. we had to vote to appoint him because by our charter we appoint, not elect. the selection committee votes on it and it goes to the board and our board today voted to appoint him, both in the section of our board meeting. it was to afford him the courtesy to talk to his own board and the people he needed to talk to before we could inform our board. and that was unfortunately a time lag of about 6 weeks. and he of course wanted to give proper notice and that's why he will not be officially joining us until june 1st. >> any other questions? okay. well thank you all very much. i

hope we'll see you many many times in our press conferences and our dealings with our new director and the great success that i'm sure he will bring for the success here at the fine arts museums. thank you. [ applause ] i'm maria, executive director of the transit joint powers authority. i can't tell you how excited i am to be here on this special occasion. congratulations, everyone, we did it. before i jump to remarks i wanted to recognize

senator boxer along with senator feinstein and pelosi has been extremely helpful to helping us where we are today. also from railroad association and secretary los angeles -- we received grants that has the project under construction today. thank you for all of your support. [ applause ] >> as everyone knows six years ago we held an international contest to design the property where we stand today. the architects won that competition with a design for the transit center that stands as a model

of elegance and functionality. 3 years ago we broke ground for the construction and now it's in full construction and you can hear the cranes next to us. now we have a record land sale of $191 million of ceremonial ground break which is the tallest tower in the western mississippi. mr. pell i has designed the transit tower and will highlight the importance of public transit to the region and state of california. as you know, the pros -- proceeds of the sale will help construct the transit center and allow us to keep thousands of jobs to our disadvantaged communities

and veterans and women and also allow us to keep our mentor ship for our youth. that's what the transit project center is doing. the development of the tower, has committed to build i am improvements with the transit center and you will see mission square which will serve as the primary entrance to the square. it will allow public access and providing a meeting and resting place for travelers and workers and residents in the area. the workers in the tower will have direct access to the rooftop that will allow benefits to work in the neighborhood. we congratulate them to the project and welcome them to our community. [ applause ]

i would now like to introduce the man who has been essential and continues to be vital to the project, ed lee, our mayor of san francisco. mayor lee firmly believed and supported the project since it's inception when he was at the department of public works and then as a city administrator. for that, i'm profoundly grateful. without your support we would not be here today. thanks to the plan to promote transportation and development. another infrastructure for sustainable development. mr. mayor lee. thank you. >> thank you, maria, you know, i want to begin by thanking

maria because she's now on her third mayor. and if you are someone who is heading up such and important project for the city and you have to transition every time a mayor comes in, one has to appreciate the anxiety, the twist and turns, the foresight, the confidence that she must continue instilling in her small staff, but more importantly in the investor community because this is where it's at. and if she doesn't have a good story to tell, with a lot of confidence, then her job is going to be even harder and the economy did not help the last 10 years to make that story any better. so with that, i want to just give a hearty thanks to maria's leadership for the last decade-and-a-half for putting

together this project and her continued perseverance to make this happen. today we celebrate the sale of the land for the transbay transit tower. to the entrance transbay transit authority, for the first time i met mr. heinz, i can going to hang out with them more because i have heard a lot of stories between you that will help me run this city better. i will say that when this transit tower is complete, it will have the impact of transforming our city skyline with the tallest structure west of the