Director, Art Museum

The University of Memphis • Memphis, TN

1d • Onsite

About The Position

The University of Memphis seeks an experienced, entrepreneurial leader to direct the Art Museum of the University of Memphis (AMUM), the University’s principal art museum. AMUM serves the University and the greater Memphis region as a hub for studying, interpreting, and showing visual art and sharing artistic scholarship. It is a teaching museum with an established contemporary art program, presenting temporary exhibitions and a visiting artist series that has brought site-based installations to Memphis since 1994. Its permanent collection includes contemporary prints and drawings, with strengths in works by Andy Warhol, Carroll Cloar, and Beth Van Hoesen, as well as African art. AMUM also administers an interdisciplinary Graduate Certificate Program in Museum Studies and works closely with the Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology, a separate entity housed in the museum’s building.

The Director provides strategic, curatorial, and operational leadership for AMUM, including developing its identity as a teaching museum with a distinctive contemporary art program. The role oversees exhibitions and programs, staff and budget, collections planning, and fundraising, and includes teaching up to three equivalent credit hours per semester in the Department of Art and Design, including the Museum Studies Certificate Program. The Director works in close partnership with the Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology’s Director and the AMUM Museum Advisory Board, and represents the museum within the University and the broader academic museum field.

The University of Memphis is a student-centered, urban public R1 research institution in Memphis, Tennessee. The University serves nearly 20,000 students and 2,500 employees, including more than 1,000 full-time faculty members. The target start date is Summer 2027. Applicants must be authorized to work in the United States; employment visa sponsorship or transfer is not available.

Requirements

• Terminal degree in art history, museum studies, contemporary art, or a closely related field; candidates with a master’s degree and a substantial record of professional museum leadership will also be considered.
• Minimum 7–10 years of progressively responsible museum experience, including curatorial and exhibition development work in contemporary art.
• Demonstrated budget, staff, and collections management experience.
• A record of scholarship or public curatorial practice.
• Demonstrated experience with, or strong aptitude for, donor cultivation and institutional fundraising.

Nice To Haves

• PhD is strongly preferred.
• Prior experience in a university- or college-affiliated museum.
• Experience working with living artists, including site-based or commissioned projects, and acquiring or building a contemporary art collection.
• Experience building cross-departmental academic partnerships or faculty-curator collaborations.
• Experience with digital collections, digital exhibition strategy, or object documentation technologies.
• Experience with organizational or operational redesign within a museum setting.

Responsibilities

• Provide overall strategic, curatorial, and operational leadership for AMUM, building on its contemporary art program and overseeing the shared exhibit space in partnership with the Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology’s Director.
• Develop and manage the museum’s annual operating budget.
• Coordinate and curate contemporary art exhibitions, programs, and events, including the visiting artist series, in collaboration with Department of Art and Design faculty.
• Develop and implement a collections plan and acquisition priorities centered on contemporary art.
• Recruit, train, and supervise museum staff, graduate assistants, interns, and student workers.
• Cultivate donor relationships and pursue grant funding in coordination with University Advancement.
• Teach up to three equivalent credit hours per semester in the Department of Art and Design, including within the Museum Studies Certificate Program.
• Serve as a non-voting ex officio member of the AMUM Museum Advisory Board and work with the Board to implement museum programs and policy.
• Represent AMUM within the University and the broader academic museum field, including engagement with peer institutions and professional associations such as AAMG.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Director