Job Description
Oberlin College invites applications for the position of John G. W. Cowles Director of the Allen Memorial Art Museum (AMAM). One of the most distinguished university or college art museums in the United States, the AMAM boasts an outstanding and growing collection of more than 14,000 objects and plays a significant role in Oberlin’s teaching mission.In a new Director, the College seeks an imaginative leader committed to the importance of a teaching museum in a liberal arts college, who engages with art as a professional with enthusiasm, curiosity, and knowledge, and who has a proven track record of exhibitions and publications that demonstrates this. We seek a Director who thrives in a collaborative academic context, and who will build on the museum’s strengths, continue to diversify and enhance its collections and programs, strengthen ties with the College’s academic program, and expand the museum’s presence in the Oberlin community and beyond.
A Master’s degree in art history, studio art, or a related field is required; the Ph.D. or equivalent is preferred. The successful candidate should possess extensive museum experience and success in administration, including hiring, staff relations, budgets, and planning. The Director should have a demonstrated ability to communicate and collaborate with museum colleagues regionally, nationally and internationally, as well as with a broad range of constituencies, including students, faculty, staff, alumni, artists, visitors, volunteers, collectors and donors.
The Director is appointed by the President and reports to the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. The Director supervises the AMAM’s staff of 10, and partners with the Director of Safety and Security to work with Museum Security officers. The Director works closely with the President, the Office of Development, and many other stakeholders on campus, including faculty and students, and is responsible for developing and managing the museum’s Visiting Committee, an advisory group. The Director plans and designs strategies for all aspects of museum programs and fundraising and will play a key role in the execution of the museum’s role in the College’s upcoming capital campaign and in planning for the museum’s centennial in 2017 and for possible expansion. The Director will be a member of the faculty and will have the opportunity to teach courses in the Department of Art.
The salary is competitive; the position includes a highly attractive benefits package.
Opened in 1917, the AMAM has always been free for everyone. The collection is housed in an impressive Italian Renaissance-style building designed by Cass Gilbert. In 1977, a gallery for contemporary art was added to the Gilbert building by the architectural firm of Robert Venturi, Rauch, and Scott Brown. The museum has recently reopened after a year-long comprehensive mechanical systems renovation and significant architectural improvements by Samuel Anderson Architects, earning LEED Gold certification from the U.S. Green Building Council.
The AMAM has an outstanding collection that provides a comprehensive overview of the history of art from a variety of cultures, as well as a well-established endowment for acquisitions. The collection is particularly strong in European and American paintings, prints and sculpture from the 15th century to the present, and has important holdings of Asian paintings, sculpture and ceramics, as well as a large group of ukiyo-e. High-quality African, pre-Columbian, and ancient art is also represented.
The museum has a broad collection of post-1900 art, with particular strengths in emerging contemporary artists. The museum houses the Eva Hesse archives, which includes the artist’s notebooks, diaries, photographs and letters, and oversees, along with the Art Department, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Weltzheimer/Johnson House. A database of the collection is available at http://rubens.cc.oberlin.edu/emuseum/, and a catalog of highlights from the collection was published in 2011 (see http://www2.oberlin.edu/amam/highlightscatalogue.html).
The museum has an exceptional program of interdisciplinary collaboration with the academic departments of Oberlin’s College of Arts and Sciences and Conservatory of Music, and engages in significant outreach to the broader community. The Department of Art, which includes strong programs in art history and studio art as well as a major art library, is housed in quarters adjoining the museum, and uses the museum extensively. The museum was re-accredited by the American Association of Museums in 2009. Further information about the AMAM is available at www.oberlin.edu/amam.
How to Apply
To apply, please send a letter of application, curriculum vitae, and the names of at least three possible references to:Nicholas Jones, Chair of the AMAM Director Search Committee, c/o Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, 101 Cox Administration Building, 70 North Professor Street, Oberlin, OH 44074.
Review of applications will begin January 6, 2012; application materials received after January 6 may be considered until the position is filled. Electronic applications are welcome: send to AMAMSearch@oberlin.edu.
Oberlin College is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer committed to creating an institutional environment free from discrimination and harassment based on race, color, sex, marital status, religion, creed, national origin, disability, age, military or veteran status, sexual orientation, family relationship to an employee of Oberlin College, and gender identity and expression.
| • Job Title: | Director of the Allen Memorial Art Museum |
| • Job Type: | Full-Time Job |
| • Employer: | Oberlin College |
| • website: | http://new.oberlin.edu |
| • Location: | Oberlin, Ohio, United States |
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