EAST LANSING, MI
ABOUT THE ELI AND EDYTHE BROAD ART MUSEUM AND MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum (website)
The Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum at Michigan State University (MSU Broad) connects people with art through experiences that inspire curiosity and inquiry. Presenting exhibitions and programs that engage diverse communities around issues of local relevance and global significance, the MSU Broad advances the University values of quality, inclusion, and connectivity.
The MSU Broad organizes exhibitions that support innovative research, scholarship, and interdisciplinary learning through the experimental practices of a global roster of artists, focusing on the art of our time, grounded in historical dialogue. The exhibition program includes an ongoing focus on issues of social, environmental, racial and restorative justice, as well as on the relationship of art to science. Enhancing the core teaching and outreach missions of the university, the MSU Broad designs collaboratively planned academic programs, a robust professional development series for K-12 teachers and university faculty, a school visit program led by MSU students, and robust community engagement workshops.
The MSU Broad is home to a permanent collection of over 10,000 works. Significant holdings include Greek and Roman antiquities; pre-Columbian sculptures and vessels; North American and European sculpture, prints, photographs, and paintings; and works in a variety of media from African, Asian, Latin American, and Middle Eastern cultures. This living collection continues to grow and diversify, with an emphasis on collecting the art of our time.
Opened in 2012, the 46,000-square-foot museum was designed by Pritzker Prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid and named in honor of Eli and Edythe Broad, longtime supporters of the university and advocates for the arts who provided the lead gift of $28 million. The museum is only one of three Zaha Hadid-designed buildings in the United States, and was named the “Best-Designed Museum Building in Michigan” by Architectural Digest in 2019.
In 2017 the University and museum opened the MSU Art Lab, an expansion across the street on Grand River Avenue, a move off campus and into the Greater Lansing community. The MSU Broad Art Lab is a collaborative space where makers, innovators, and lifelong learners can connect with opportunities to create and experiment with art. It supports the mission of the MSU Broad by providing an accessible, community-focused gateway where creative inquiry and process are at the core of the exhibitions and programming.
Michigan State University (website)
Founded in 1855, Michigan State University is one of the world’s leading public research-intensive institutions and a member of the Association of American Universities. MSU enrolls over 50,000 students in seventeen colleges, employs more than 11,000 faculty and staff, and has approximately 563,000 living alumni worldwide. The beautiful 5,200-acre campus is located in East Lansing, Michigan, adjacent to the state capital and an hour from suburban Detroit. The nation’s pioneer land-grant institution, MSU is home to world-class faculty, nationally and internationally recognized academic departments and programs with over 200 programs of study, and a diverse student body from 130 countries, all 50 states and every county in Michigan. The University is committed to serving Michigan, the nation, and the world. Its distinguished history of innovative teaching, research, and outreach has brought MSU worldwide recognition as a public university with global reach and impact. Notably, MSU has a longstanding record of achievement and commitment to diversity. The University offers an environment that promotes an appreciation of diversity among its faculty, students, staff, and programs.
There are abundant opportunities to enjoy arts and culture on campus, including the Wharton Performing Arts Center which has generated state and national prominence for its success with touring mega hits and sold-out sensations, as well as commissioning new works by up-and-coming artists, opening the door to a new generation of performers and patrons, the College of Music with nationally known programs in performance, composition, and jazz, productions by the MSU Opera Theater and the Department of Theatre, the MSU Museum, extensive horticultural gardens, and internationally recognized special collections at the MSU Libraries.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Reporting to the Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs, with ancillary reporting to the Associate Provost for University Collections and Arts Initiatives, the Director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum must be an engaging leader adept at building relationships with a wide range of constituents including students, faculty, administration, community members, and donors. The Director will help to develop a distinctive national profile for the museum, and create connections with other academic museums, regional museums, and other modern and contemporary art institutions.
The Director will articulate an organizational vision for interdisciplinary exploration grounded in contemporary art and art history. With a commitment to collaboration, the Director will establish a compelling program of exhibitions and programs that advance the university’s research and teaching mission and bring the Broad’s artistic and educational programs into conversation with diverse fields of study. The Director must understand and promote the MSU Broad’s role in the academic mission of the University as a public research institution and understand how the University’s public charge is woven into the museum’s culture and programs. Likewise, in partnership with University leadership, the Director must leverage the public-facing profile of the Museum to engage its broad constituency more deeply with the MSU Broad and the University as a whole. They must have a deep commitment to and understanding of diversity – in all dimensions – as a force for academic and artistic excellence and as a deeply held commitment at the heart of the institution’s mission.
CANDIDATE PROFILE
The next Director of the MSU Broad will be a persuasive and inventive leader who is inspired by the unique mission of a public university art museum and can inspire others as well. Top candidates will demonstrate evidence of progressively increasing organizational leadership within complex environments where relationship building and influencing skills are key to success. The MSU Broad seeks candidates with leadership experience in an art museum setting, arts institution, or similar organizations, with a record of strong institutional and financial management. Other key qualities include a talent and enthusiasm for outreach and collaboration, and a commitment to supporting a diverse and inclusive staff. A master’s degree in art or art history, or other relevant field or research area is required; a Ph.D. is preferred, as is equivalent professional and leadership experience in a comparable setting.
With personal and professional integrity of the highest degree and holding public interest and public trust in the highest regard, the Director will possess a high comfort level operating in the public arena which includes valuing outward engagement, being at ease with people, and accepting the public demands made upon a leader with visibility in the community.
CONTACT
Naree Viner and Stephen Milbauer of Koya Leadership Partners have been exclusively retained for this search. To express your interest in this role please submit your materials here or email Stephen directly at smilbauer@koyapartners.com. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential.
Michigan State University is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer. MSU is strongly committed to achieving excellence through cultural diversity. The University actively encourages applications and nominations of women, persons of color, veterans, and persons with disabilities.
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