Director, George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum; AAMG Vice President, Strategic Planning and Co-Chair, Task Force for the Protection of University Collections & Affiliate Liaison
John Wetenhall is founding director of the new George Washington University Museum and The Textile Museum, serving also on the faculty of GW’s Graduate Program in Museum Studies. Previously, as Executive Director of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art he led a $150 million capital and endowment program that re-established the estate as a prominent cultural attraction in Southwest Florida. He also participated in major renovations at the Cheekwood Museum of Art in Nashville and the Birmingham Museum of Art, having additionally held positions as President of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh and as Interim Director of The Miami Art Museum (now Perez). He is an art historian, educated at Dartmouth (BA), Williams (MA) and Stanford (PhD), with an MBA from Vanderbilt. Dr. Wetenhall has served on the boards of AAM, ICOM-US and AAMG and has received the lifetime achievement award from the Florida Association of Museums. His recent writings focus on the values, ethics, and “business” of museums. He is married to Tanya Wetenhall, a professor at GW specializing in the history of fashion and global dress.
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