Ruth Gordon Shapiro '37 Director of the Davis Museum

Wellesley College•Wellesley, MA

71d•$220,000 - $250,000

About The Position

The Davis Museum is one of Wellesley College’s great assets, providing for the care and inventive display of distinguished permanent collections and for the presentation of a rich and varied schedule of temporary exhibitions and programs. A teaching museum, the Davis Museum is a critical resource that is used not only to teach art and art history but also to engage Wellesley College students from across the disciplines in exploring the intersections between art and other fields. The Davis Museum seeks to be a leading academic museum on a liberal arts college campus for the 21st century. Wellesley College began collecting original works of art upon its founding in 1875 and opened the Farnsworth Art Museum in 1889. The museum moved to the Jewett Arts Center in 1958, and to its current home in the Davis Museum in 1993. The study of original art objects has been integral to teaching across the disciplines at Wellesley since the College’s founding. Notably, Wellesley introduced the teaching of art history in 1885 and distinguished itself as one of the first American colleges to offer the subject. The College’s collections have served as the foundation for Wellesley’s renown in the field of art history since Alice Van Vechten Brown introduced what became known as “the Wellesley Method” in the late nineteenth-century: an art history pedagogy that intertwined the study of original works of art with art-making, lectures, and reading. Since the 1990s, the Davis has continued its leadership in the field of academic museums with innovative crossdisciplinary education through the visual arts, expanding far beyond its original remit as an extension of the Art Department. Today, the Davis Museum stewards approximately 15,500 works of art and hosts over 100 class visits from departments across Wellesley each academic year. Widely recognized for its adventurous exhibitions and dynamic programming, the Davis attracts diverse audiences from on and off campus and provides unique learning opportunities for Wellesley students. The Davis Museum was the first building in North America to have been designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Rafael Moneo, whose notion of the museum as a “treasury” or “treasure chamber” informs its design. Adjacent to the Academic Quad and connected by enclosed bridge to the Jewett Arts Center, the Davis is at the heart of the arts on the Wellesley campus. As a resource for academic research and study, and a source of innovative programming, the Davis occupies a prominent space at the center of the intellectual and aesthetic life of the College community. The Davis’s facilities for the display and study of art include four floors of galleries; a print study room; a seminar room linked by elevator to permanent collection storage areas; collection care areas, staff workspaces and offices. The complex also houses the Collins Cinema, a 168 seat lecture theater fully equipped for presenting film and electronic media, and the Collins Café. The Davis Museum stewards a long-term collection of 15,500 artworks, including paintings, sculptures, works on paper, photographs, and more. Strengths of the collection include photography, works on paper, ancient Mediterranean art, African art, Asian ceramics, European paintings, arts of the Americas, and contemporary art. Intertwined with the College’s curriculum, the Museum’s galleries reflect the scholarship produced by students, staff, and faculty. The Davis offers unique opportunities to learn about history and our present moment. The stories in the galleries emphasize crosscultural encounters and artists’ innovative responses to the world as it changes around them. Students learn at the Museum in classes from departments across Wellesley. They also learn by doing: greeting and giving tours to visitors, working with museum staff, and advising on exhibitions and programming. The Davis’s interdisciplinary approach prepares students for creative achievement in every field. The Wellesley College Art Department has a close relationship with the Davis, making extensive use of their collection to teach in the direct presence of art objects. Curators and staff at the Davis provide lectures and tours. Art Department faculty also give public lectures in the museum galleries. The Davis works with Studio Art faculty on occasional faculty art exhibitions, giving the College community an opportunity to fully experience the work of its artist professors. Wellesley College students may engage with the Davis as visitors, as student workers/docents, as summer interns, and as members of the Davis Museum Student Advisory Committee (DMSAC). The Davis Museum has an annual budget of approximately $3.2 million and a team of 17 FTEs when fully staffed. Nearly 50 students work at the museum throughout the year as well. To learn more about The Davis, please visit https://www1.wellesley.edu/davismuseum Wellesley College Wellesley College is one of the most academically rigorous institutions of higher education in the country, and is widely acknowledged as the top women’s college in the world. The College’s mission is to provide “an excellent liberal arts education for women who will make a difference in the world.” For nearly 150 years, Wellesley graduates have been a powerful force for good in the world—pioneering scientists, environmental revolutionaries, U.S. secretaries of state, civil rights activists, investment trailblazers, network news producers, and genre-defying artists. Today, Wellesley has an undergraduate enrollment of approximately 2,300 students from all over the world. The College recently launched the “Wellesley In The World” (WITW) initiative to highlight and amplify the impact of the College’s students and faculty, faculty, and alumnae in the world. The Davis Museum is an important part of this initiative given its dual focus on internal and external audiences, and the museum frequently works in partnership with other centers on campus. These include the Wagner Centers for WITW – which encompasses the Madeleine Korbel Albright Institute, the Hillary Rodham Clinton Center for Citizenship, Leadership, and Democracy, and the Wellesley Centers for Women – as well as several more internally focused centers: the Knapp Social Science Center, the Suzy Newhouse Center for the Humanities, the Camila Frost Chandler ‘47 Center for the Environment, the Botanic Gardens, and the Science Complex. The arts facilities at Wellesley include the Davis Museum, the Jewett Arts Center, the newly renovated Pendleton West (which houses some studio art and music facilities), and Alumnae Hall (which includes the Diana Chapman Walsh Auditorium and Ruth Nagel Jones Black Box Theatre). The College is poised for a transformative renovation of Jewett and the reimagination of its arts facilities into a new Arts Complex. This is an opportunity to ensure that the College’s arts program is future-forward and that arts are a vibrant center of life, energy, ideas, and experimentation on campus. The Jewett renovation will include the redevelopment of the Davis Museum Plaza and a stunning new entrance to Jewett from the Plaza, strengthening the connection between these buildings. To learn more about Wellesley, please visit: https://www.wellesley.edu/ The Role Reporting to the Provost and Lia Gelin Poorvu ‘56 Dean of the College, the Ruth Gordon Shapiro '37 Director (Director) is the leader of the Davis Museum and oversees the entire institution, including collections, staff, facilities, exhibitions, education, public programs, external relations, fundraising, administrative activities, and more. The Director is responsible for setting an inspiring vision and corresponding strategy for the Davis’s next chapter. They must chart an innovative course forward while ensuring the Museum has the necessary resources to achieve its goals. As the Museum’s primary ambassador, they must build support for and engagement with the Museum, both on and offcampus. This includes forging and nurturing partnerships with faculty, students, senior College leaders, directors of College centers and other College staff, alumnae, the local community, and more. The Director is responsible for leading, motivating, and developing a high-performing team. They also must ensure that the Davis staff and the College staff partner in a manner that creates the best outcomes for both the Museum and the College at large. Working in partnership with the College’s development team, the Director serves as the Museum’s chief fundraiser. They are responsible for identifying and cultivating new funding sources while ensuring existing relationships are nurtured. This includes leveraging momentum around the broader vision for the arts on campus. As the primary financial steward of the Museum, they are also responsible for ensuring its operations run effectively and efficiently. While ensuring the Davis remains a leader in the museum field more broadly, they are responsible for championing its mission as an educational institution. Most importantly, they lead the Museum in its service of Wellesley’s students, faculty, alumnae, community, and more. Candidate Profile The ideal candidate will be an inspiring, strategic, and collaborative leader with a deep passion for the arts and education. This role requires an individual with a track record of successfully leading sustainable change and setting ambitious organizational goals. The candidate will bring demonstrated success in fundraising and revenue generation, as well as experience managing teams and budgets of relevant scale. They will have a deep appreciation for the unique mission of the Davis, as well as the desire and ability to advance a vision for the years ahead.

Requirements

An inspiring, strategic, and collaborative leader with a deep passion for the arts and education.
A track record of successfully leading sustainable change and setting ambitious organizational goals.
Demonstrated success in fundraising and revenue generation, as well as experience managing teams and budgets of relevant scale.
A deep appreciation for the unique mission of the Davis, as well as the desire and ability to advance a vision for the years ahead.
The ability to articulate an inspiring vision and set ambitious goals
Proven experience conceptualizing, developing, and delivering key initiatives
An entrepreneurial, creative, and cross-disciplinary approach to developing new ideas that can expand the role and impact of the organization
The inclination to seek and analyze data from a variety of sources, as well as to gather input from varied stakeholders, to support decisions
Excellent judgment that balances a variety of factors and points of view; resilience and creativity in the face of ambiguity and change
Naturally connects and builds strong relationships with others, demonstrating strong emotional intelligence and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively
An ability to inspire trust and followership in others through compelling influence and passion for the mission
Creates a sense of purpose/meaning for the team and clearly articulates the Davis’s unique value proposition
Nurtures and builds partnerships with a wide variety of individuals and institutions; brings an ability to work within the larger context of the College
A demonstrated ability to retain, empower, recruit, and develop top talent while nurturing a strong organizational culture
An attitude of self-reflection and awareness; an openness to feedback and orientation towards leading by example
The ability to delegate effectively and ensure proper allocation of resources to accomplish ambitious goals
An “institution-first” approach, with a focus on promotion of the team, organization, and mission above self
Proven experience effectively leading a team of relevant scope and scale
Experience in building an institution’s funding base; demonstrates an ability to engage prospective funders
Proven success forging and maintaining mutually productive relationships with peer institutions and partners to further an organization’s impact
When appropriate, an ability to advocate for resources from and in partnership with the College
The ability to set clear and challenging goals; tenacious and accountable in driving results
Comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty; the ability to adapt nimbly and lead others through complex situations
Examples of strong fiscal and strategic discipline and outcomes; results-oriented, thoughtful, and detailoriented; the business acumen necessary to take calculated risks and use resources creatively while demonstrating pragmatism
Proven ability to carefully steward organizational assets, balance budgets, and make prudent decisions within financial resources
Exhibits knowledge of and passion for art and art history
Brings a vision for the future of museums and the role that museums can play in education; thinks creatively about audience and community engagement
Brings a fundamental belief in the value of providing an excellent liberal arts education to women who will make a difference in the world

Responsibilities

Oversees the entire institution, including collections, staff, facilities, exhibitions, education, public programs, external relations, fundraising, administrative activities, and more.
Setting an inspiring vision and corresponding strategy for the Davis’s next chapter.
Charting an innovative course forward while ensuring the Museum has the necessary resources to achieve its goals.
Build support for and engagement with the Museum, both on and offcampus.
Forging and nurturing partnerships with faculty, students, senior College leaders, directors of College centers and other College staff, alumnae, the local community, and more.
Leading, motivating, and developing a high-performing team.
Ensure that the Davis staff and the College staff partner in a manner that creates the best outcomes for both the Museum and the College at large.
Serves as the Museum’s chief fundraiser.
Identifying and cultivating new funding sources while ensuring existing relationships are nurtured.
Ensuring its operations run effectively and efficiently.
Championing its mission as an educational institution.
Lead the Museum in its service of Wellesley’s students, faculty, alumnae, community, and more.