Posted: 2/28/2009
Closes: Open until filled
Level: Senior
Type: Permanent
Job categories: Director, Education

Michigan State University seeks a dynamic leader with significant museum experience to serve as director of its AAM-accredited natural history and cultural museum. Founded in 1857 as part of the university’s land-grant mission, the MSU Museum (hereafter the "Museum") serves university and world-wide academic communities, scholars and public audiences through collections, research, exhibitions, public programs and services.

The new director will demonstrate a strong commitment to the Museum’s mission of research, scholarship and public engagement, provide sound management and fiscal direction, and balance the unique needs and interests of multiple constituencies. The new director will obtain extramural funding, and strengthen university investment in support of scholarship, technology, education, exhibition and distance learning activities of the Museum. The new director will enhance collaborations between the MSU Museum, other academic units and other organizations where they intersect with teaching, research, exhibits, and public programs.

The MSU Museum has significant cultural and natural history collections that include approximately one million specimens and objects in Anthropology, Vertebrate Natural History, Folk Arts and History. The Museum is comprised of 32 full and part-time administrative, faculty, curatorial and support staff. In addition to the public museum building, which contains natural history collections, exhibits and office space, collections are housed in three other campus buildings. The Museum's collections are accessible through multiple national electronic databases. The staff is engaged in exhibition development which includes a traveling exhibition service. They are involved locally, nationally and internationally in research, scholarship, the development of collections and electronic access to collections data. Staff also works with diverse communities in research and programming. The MSU Museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate, CITES-registered, and designated an anchor organization of the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs. More information about the Museum can be found at http://museum.msu.edu/.

The MSU Museum is administered by the Office of the Provost; the director reports to the Associate Provost for University Outreach and Engagement. MSU Colleges of Arts and Letters, Social Sciences, Natural Sciences, and Agriculture and Natural Resources/Extension provide funding and staff to the museum.

The ideal candidate will have:
- An innovative vision for a university museum that serves multiple constituencies.
- A doctoral degree in a discipline related and complementary to the work and collections of the Museum.
- A significant record of scholarship and research sufficient to be tenured at Michigan State University.
- Leadership experience in a museum.
- A record of sound fiscal management, securing significant extramural funding and fund-raising.
- A strong record of collaboration with diverse stake-holders.
More information is available at http://museum.msu.edu/directorsearch. For inquiries and additional information, contact the chair of the search committee, Professor Mark Kornbluh at Kornbluh@msu.edu.

Position is open until filled. Review of applications will begin on March 11, 2009. To apply, please provide a cover letter of interest, a full curriculum vitae, contact information for three references, and three representative scholarly publications to the search committee chair at Kornbluh@msu.edu, or in hard copy to MSU Museum Search Committee, Michigan State University, Kellogg Center, Garden Level, East Lansing, MI 48824-1022.

Michigan State University is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer. Applications from women and members of minorities are strongly encourage. Persons with disabilities have the right to request and receive reasonable accommodation.