DIRECTOR, KRANNERT ART MUSEUM
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign seeks nominations and applications for the position of Director, Krannert Art Museum (KAM). The next director will be a creative and visionary leader in the arts committed to building a dynamic, inclusive, and collaborative environment that impacts the campus, community and national constituencies that KAM serves.
KAM is a site for knowledge production and experimentation, begetting new perspectives that art can provide concerning the most urgent issues of our time. With a varied and comprehensive collection of over 10,000 works of art that date from the fourth millennium BCE to the present, KAM holds materials that represent an extensive array of cultures and media and reflect the museum’s educational mission. KAM presents 15 or more exhibitions a year (most of them organized by KAM) and over 150 educational programs and special events, including inviting renowned artists and scholars to come to campus in support of their exhibitions and projects. Since 2004, KAM’s exhibitions have traveled to over 30 cities in the United States and beyond. The topics and artists represented in its exhibitions and accompanying publications provide opportunities for signature interdisciplinary programming.
KAM is an engaged partner in the intellectual and cultural work of the campus, actively involving faculty, students and staff as initiators, partners and subjects in compelling investigations of contemporary culture and society. This engagement includes collaborative development of exhibitions, museum publications, workshops and other programming. Major priorities include increasing KAM’s integration into the curriculum, enlisting the intellectual assets of the campus into the museum’s exhibition and educational objectives, and exploring emerging media platforms within the museum.
The director leads and supports 16 full-time employees to offer a dynamic forum for artistic inquiry. The staff supports curators in the generation of new scholarship and creative work, fosters best practices in care and development of the collection, and promotes education initiatives and programs that engage a broad public audience. They pursue interdisciplinary academic collaboration and explore ideas and issues on local, regional, national and global levels. They foster a culture of respect and demonstrate a strong commitment to diversity, inclusion and equity as a core value of the museum and university.
The director provides strategic leadership for KAM, ensuring that the institution’s mission is clearly understood and that its objectives are fully articulated and effectively pursued. As the chief administrative officer of the museum, the director is responsible for all aspects of its operations, including fiscal and personnel management. Working closely with other academic and administrative departments on campus, the director represents the museum to various external constituencies, most notably alumni and friends of the arts, public audiences throughout the region, and the museum and arts professions at large. The director cultivates donors and works aggressively to secure funding from individuals, foundations, corporations and governmental agencies.
The committee is seeking candidates who demonstrate the following: knowledge of art museum and curatorial best practices; a collaborative approach to management; excellent interpersonal skills working with a diverse population; a strong record of success in donor relations and fundraising; the skills to create a stimulating and productive work environment; an ability to work well in an academic research environment and make creative connections with faculty and students as well as community partners, including K-12 schools; and outstanding verbal and written communication skills.
The candidate will have five or more years of relevant leadership experience. Experience in an academic environment is preferred. A bachelor’s degree is required and a master’s degree (in art history, curatorial studies, or a related area) is strongly preferred.
The Director of the Krannert Art Museum has a joint reporting line to the Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs and the Dean of the College of Fine and Applied Arts. This full-time academic professional position has a 12-month appointment and a negotiable start date. The full compensation package is based on qualifications and experience.
The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign invites letters of nomination or application (letter of interest, resume/CV, and five references). Applications and nominations will be accepted until the position is filled, and review of applications will begin immediately.
Interested candidates are encouraged to submit materials prior to Friday, April 7, 2017. All inquiries, nominations/referrals, and applications should be sent electronically to:
Search Committee Chair
Founded in 1867, the University of Illinois is located in Urbana-Champaign and is a world leader in research, teaching, and public engagement, distinguished by the breadth of its programs, academic excellence, and internationally renowned faculty. Illinois faculty have earned 23 Nobel Prizes; two faculty and 18 alumni are Pulitzer Prize winners; and our faculty and alumni are well-represented in the memberships of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the National Academy of Sciences, and the National Academy of Engineering. The campus is a leader in access for students with disabilities and was the first to provide disabilities access to all campus programs, facilities, and services and the first to offer comprehensive wheelchair sports programming. Additional information about the University may be obtained from its website, www.illinois.edu.
PI97086466
Categories: Job Postings