James Dobson, who founded the conservative evangelical group Focus on the Family, has resigned from his role as chairman of that organization, according to the Associated Press.

Mr. Dobson, 72, announced his decision to the board of the Colorado Springs ministry on Wednesday and the charity’s employees were told this morning during a monthly worship service, according to Jim Daly, the group’s chief executive officer. Mr. Dobson will be replaced as board chair by Patrick P. Caruana, a retired Air Force official. The move was part of an existing succession plan, according to the news service.

Mr. Dobson will continue to be involved in some of the charity’s activities, such as his hosting of Focus on the Family’s national radio program, Mr. Daly said, and will also continue to speak out publicly about social issues. Mr. Dobson has for decades been one of the key public voices among...

A California legislator this week proposed a bill to prohibit salary increases for top college officials in years in which they raise tuition, The Chronicle of Higher Education reports.

A measure, by Sen. Leland Yee, a Democrat, would apply to presidents, chancellors, vice chancellors and general counsels at the University of California, California State and the state’s community-college system. Mr. Yee has been a vocal critic of the University of California’s pay policies in recent years.

With its endowment down 27 percent and government grants likely to be reduced, the Walters Art Museum unveiled a restructuring plan that includes firings and staff furloughs but pledged to maintain free admission, The Baltimore Sun reports.

The Walters move comes on the heels of a rash of museums trimming staffs and programs nationwide, with the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Philadelphia Museum of Art and Atlanta’s High Museum of Art all announcing layoffs and other cost-cutting measures this week, according to a New York Times roundup. The Las Vegas Sun reports that the Las Vegas Art Museum will close tomorrow.

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The economic crisis is prompting even wealthy and relatively unscathed donors to scale back what have been big-ticket, high-glitz annual charity galas, reports The New York Times.

“It’s somehow considered kind of gauche to be too aggressive” about the décor and price of charity galas, said John Dobkin, vice president of Wilderstein, a Victorian house museum in upstate New York.

The article offers practical tips on cutting galas’ costs, such as soliciting food and wine donations and substituting balloons for flowers.

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Richard Koshalek, former director of the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, has been named to lead the Smithsonian’s Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden in Washington, The Washington Post reports.

“This is the perfect time and place in Washington” given the Obama administration’s more expansive view of the role of arts and culture, said Mr. Koshalek, who will take up his new post in April. He becomes the second new head of a Smithsonian art gallery hired this month. Johnnetta Cole, the former president of Spelman College, was named to head the National Museum of African Art.

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New York City Center, which was supported by many donors who have lost money with Bernard Madoff, will continue with a planned $300-million makeover despite donors’ losses, Bloomberg reports.

The renovation “has not been affected by the Madoff situation,” said Arlene Shuler, president of the City Center. The plan, started in late 2005 and once scheduled for completion in 2010, had already been scaled back over the years and remains in the design phase.

Six of the organization’s 32 directors were investors in Mr. Madoff’s alleged Ponzi scheme, and Mr. Madoff himself served on the board until his arrest in December.

The Obama plan to limit charitable deductions by the very wealthy has stirred alarm in some quarters of the nonprofit world — but some fund raisers and giving experts say it won’t make much of a difference to charitable giving, The Chronicle of Philanthropy notes.

Plus:

• White House officials say they doubt President Obama’s proposal to place new limits on tax breaks for charitable deductions would dampen giving.

• A round-up of what blog writers are saying about the Obama proposal.

• Leaders of coalitions that represent charities and foundations respond to the plan.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, is looking into the “misreporting” of cash contributions to charity by individuals when they file their tax returns, The Chronicle’s Government and Politics Watch blog reports.

Plus:

• About a dozen advocacy groups and Muslim charities told a federal court today that the government’s seizure of a charity’s assets because of allegations it assisted terrorists hurts humanitarian work and America’s efforts to fight terrorism.

• The accountability office has also released a report that describes the ways federal funds are provided to tax-exempt organizations and attempts to quantify the amounts nonprofit organizations receive through government programs.

• The White House has yet to provide details on its new Office of Social Innovation, but next week the Aspen Institute, in Washington, is holding a...

A new effort is under way to persuade World Cup fans to give to antimalaria charities and offers ideas on how other charities can use such approaches to attract support, notes Prospecting, The Chronicle’s online column.

Join us on Tuesday, March 3, at noon Eastern time for a live discussion about how young nonprofit employees can move up the ladder during tough economic times. How can they assert themselves as leaders in their organizations? What resources exist to help young workers develop?

Also: On Thursday, March 5, at noon Eastern time we will host a live discussion for readers to pose questions directly to the veteran fund raiser Cass Wheeler, who has navigated the American Heart Association through recessions, the fallout from the 2001 terrorist attacks, and a major national reorganization — all while doubling the organization’s revenue between 1997 and 2008.

The Chronicle’s online discussions are free and open to everyone. People who ask questions in advance have a better chance of getting answers.

For an archive of past discussions, go to: http://philanthropy.com/live.