Department: Office of the Provost
Appointment Type and Duration: Regular, Ongoing
Salary: $175,000 - 190,000; commensurate with experience
Compensation Band: OS-OA13-Fiscal Year 2024-2025
FTE: 1.0
Application Review Begins
May 3, 2025; position open until filled.
Special Instructions to Applicants
The Search Committee invites applications that include a letter of interest, full resume, and the names and contact information of four or more references. To read more about the opportunity and apply, visit https://www.mcaonline.com/searches/executive-director-schnitzer.
Department Summary
The University of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA) is one of the nation’s finest academic teaching museums and a premier Pacific Northwest visual art center. Designed by Ellis F. Lawrence, UO Dean of Architecture & Allied Arts at the time, the museum was built to house the Murray Warner Collection of Oriental Art—more than 3,700 works of Asian Art given to the University of Oregon by Gertrude Bass Warner. It opened its doors to the public in 1933 as the university’s Museum of Art. In the early 2000s, the museum expanded from 32,000 square feet to approximately 70,000 square feet, with exhibition space increasing from 8,000 to 23,000 square feet, and was rechristened the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. The museum’s growing collection now numbers more than 18,800 works of art. With approximately 35 employees and 85 student employees, interns, fellows, and volunteers, the museum provides an important teaching, research, and learning laboratory for University of Oregon (UO) students and faculty, K-12 schools statewide, and the community at large.
The JSMA is the only academic art museum in Oregon accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and offers engaging exhibitions, significant collections of historic and contemporary art, and innovative educational and academic programs that support the university’s academic mission and the diverse interests of its off-campus communities. In recent years, the museum has annually welcomed more than 10,000 UO students to the museum for academic visits representing more than 40 UO departments and programs across the curriculum, and its Art Heals educational programming and research is nationally and internationally recognized. The JSMA’s collections galleries present selections from its extensive holdings of Chinese, Japanese, Korean and American art, as well as growing collections of Latin American art, photography, and European art. JSMA galleries display works from the collection and on loan in special exhibitions, bringing work by internationally renowned artists and historically significant cultural traditions to the UO and the region. The JSMA continues its founding tradition of bridging international cultures and offers a welcoming destination for discovery and education centered on artistic expression to deepen the appreciation and understanding of the human condition.
The museum has presented a series of exhibitions over the years that capture the spirit of the institution. Highlights include “Necroarchivos de las Americas: An Unrelenting Search for Justice” (artists responding to social and political violence across the Americas. Featured in the NYT), “Isaac Julien, Lessons of the Hour, The Art of the News: Comics Journalism Framing the Revolution: Contemporary Chinese Photograph” (since the Asian collection is so central); “Many Wests: Artists Shape and American Idea” (a collaborative exhibition between the Smithsonian and four western museums).
Position Summary
Reporting to the Executive Vice Provost for Academic Affairs, the Executive Director of the JSMA provides strategic leadership in all areas of museum development and operations and fosters campus, community, statewide and regional support for the Museum and its mission. The Executive Director will help shape and implement a strong and broad vision that is consistent with the JSMA's position nationally and in the Pacific Northwest as one of our nation’s foremost academic teaching museums. The Executive Director will manage the staff and resources of the museum to ensure strong, dynamic exhibition and educational programs; appropriate care of the permanent collection consistent with professional best practices; sound fiscal operations; a vibrant fundraising and marketing program; and integration of the museum with the intellectual and academic life of the university and beyond.
JSMA has successfully grown its operation into a thriving world-class institution and a valued resource for faculty and students. It is part of the intellectual community across the campus and integrated into both teaching and research. The Executive Director will build on both the reputation of the museum and its role in the academic mission of the university. The Executive Director will work closely with the Leadership Council, an advisory body which consists of donors, faculty and students. A number of faculty committees also provide the Executive Director with input and support for a variety of activities. The Executive Director will work closely with donors to raise funds for Oregon 150, which will be celebrated in 2026.
Reaccreditation by the American Alliance of Museums will take place within the new Executive Director’s first year as will evaluation of the facilities and potential capital projects. The museum’s budget is $4.5 million and the museum has a healthy endowment.
Minimum Requirements
• Advanced degree in a relevant field.
• Three years as a museum director OR five years in a senior management role within a museum at a major institution.
Professional Competencies
• Ability to act as a dynamic leader who can generate excitement and inspire the museum's constituencies including the Leadership Council, faculty, students, staff, academic leadership, alumni, community leaders, museum supporters, and the public to support and develop the JSMA.
• Ability to lead an organization through strategic planning and visioning process, and to develop and implement short- and long-term plans for the museum consistent with the mission of the museum and the university.
• Excellent communication skills in a variety of modalities to engage various audiences.
• Ability to engage the larger community with of the museum including effective relationship building, membership programs, and donor relations.
• Proven abilities in resource management, fundraising, leadership, supervisory and problem-solving skills, with clear measures of success.
• Excellence in resource management, fundraising, leadership, supervisory and problem-solving skills, with clear measures of success.
• Commitment to, and passion for, the visual arts, both past and present.
• Knowledge and understanding of the national visual arts ecology.
Preferred Qualifications
• Experience as a museum director in an academic art museum.
• Experience with curatorial and educational/academic programming; membership operations and community engagement; communications and publications.
• Substantial experience representing an institution and its interests with the public, including the press.
• Terminal degree.
• Teaching experience at the university level.
• Significant involvement in national museum organizations.
• Experience with the AAM Accreditation process.
• A strong fundraising track record, including the successful solicitation of significant individual and private gifts, major grants, and an understanding of effective fundraising strategies and planning.
FLSA Exempt: Yes
All offers of employment are contingent upon successful completion of a background check.
The University of Oregon is proud to offer a robust benefits package to eligible employees, including health insurance, retirement plans, and paid time off. For more information about benefits, visit https://hr.uoregon.edu/about-benefits.
The University of Oregon is an equal opportunity, affirmative action institution committed to cultural diversity and compliance with the ADA. The University encourages all qualified individuals to apply and does not discriminate on the basis of any protected status, including veteran and disability status. The University is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to applicants and employees with disabilities. To request an accommodation in connection with the application process, please contact us at uocareers@uoregon.edu or 541-346-5112.
UO prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy (including pregnancy-related conditions), age, physical or mental disability, genetic information (including family medical history), ancestry, familial status, citizenship, service in the uniformed services (as defined in federal and state law), veteran status, expunged juvenile record, and/or the use of leave protected by state or federal law in all programs, activities and employment practices as required by Title IX, other applicable laws, and policies. Retaliation is prohibited by UO policy. Questions may be referred to the Office of Investigations and Civil Rights Compliance. Contact information, related policies, and complaint procedures are listed here.
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