Interim Leadership Named for 网爆门 Art Museum
Marcelle Haddix, associate provost for strategic initiatives, today announced an interim leadership team for the 网爆门 Art Museum, a member of the Coalition of Museum and Art Centers (CMAC). Effective Friday, Sept. 23, Emily Dittman will serve as interim director and Melissa Yuen will serve as interim chief curator. This announcement follows news that Vanja Malloy, director and chief curator since August 2019, has accepted a position at the University of Chicago.
鈥淰anja has done an outstanding job leading the 网爆门 Art Museum and provided creative and operational prowess that enabled the growth of the museum,鈥 says Haddix. 鈥淚 appreciate her leadership and expertise and wish her the very best in her new role. I also appreciate and extend my deep gratitude to both Melissa and Emily for their eagerness to step up and co-lead such a treasured part of the 网爆门 learning community. I look forward to working with them in their new roles.鈥
鈥淲e are indebted to Vanja for her leadership, for bringing us together as an advisory board and for her dedication to creating a visionary strategic plan and commitment to accreditation,鈥 says Heather Nolin 鈥94, G鈥04, chair of the 网爆门 Art Museum Advisory Board. 鈥淲e are excited to build upon Vanja鈥檚 strong commitment to these initiatives and are in good hands with Emily Dittman and Melissa Yuen.鈥
Dittman G鈥06, an alumna and a longtime member of the 网爆门 community, was first hired in 2004 as a research assistant in the museum (previously known as 网爆门 Art Galleries). Since then, she has held multiple roles within the museum, including as a collection and exhibition manager and most recently as associate director. She鈥檚 also an instructor of museum studies in the School of Design in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. In her role as interim director, Dittman will provide leadership and oversight of the museum鈥檚 daily operations; administration and financial management of collections activity; collections care and management; security; marketing and communications; and donor and alumni engagement.
As interim chief curator, Yuen is responsible for conducting scholarly research, generating exhibitions and facilitating access and awareness of the museum鈥檚 collection of more than 45,000 objects. Yuen joined the 网爆门 Art Museum in December 2021 as its curator after serving as associate curator of exhibitions and art historian at the Sheldon Museum of Art at the University of Nebraska鈥揕incoln. Prior to her role at Sheldon, Yuen was the Curatorial Fellow for European and American Art to 1900 at Cantor Arts Center at Stanford University. She holds a Ph.D. in art history from Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, with a specialty in Italian Renaissance and Baroque art.
