What they're saying: Keith Shumate, chair of the zoo's board of directors, told board members Schmid is the right person to "help move the zoo forward."
The big picture: Schmid said he was hooked by the scale of operations - the 622-acre zoo itself, plus a water park, golf course and a nearly 10,000-acre conservation park, The Wilds, east of Columbus. Until December, esteemed Columbus Zoo director emeritus Jerry Borin, who came out of retirement following Stalf's resignation, will continue to lead the zoo.Eventually, the park's North America region will likely be targeted for upgrades because of outdated habitats."A lot of my focus will be regaining trust in the community, both in central Ohio and the zoo community at large," he said.What's next: Schmid's first priority will be ensuring the staff "once again has confidence in the leadership of the zoo," he tells Axios. Under Schmid's leadership, the aquarium doubled in size with a $58 million, 71,000-square-foot expansion in 2017, and a new, massive wildlife rescue center is now under construction.Before that, he led Nauticus, a maritime science center in Norfolk, Virginia, and started his career at SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida.
A recent documentary also uncovered longtime zoo director Jack Hanna's involvement in the exotic big cat trade.įlashback: Schmid, 58, has led Texas State Aquarium in Corpus Christi, Texas, since 1999.
The Columbus Zoo said the accreditation comes following a four-day, on-site inspection of the zoo in March by a team of zoological professionals, a review period by the ZAA accreditation committee, and full ZAA Board of Directors approval and voting process. This comes after the zoo lost its accreditation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) last year. The Columbus Zoo and Aquarium announced Wednesday that the Zoo has earned accreditation from the Zoological Association of America (ZAA), an international association and accrediting body.