As The Gund marks its 15th anniversary with several fall exhibitions, the museum is in the early stages of the search for a new director, President Julie Kornfeld said in a Sept. 4 interview with the Collegian.
The search was prompted by former Director and Chief Curator of The Gund Daisy Desrosiers’ appointment to Tate Modern as the museum’s Britton Family curator-at-large, North America. Kornfeld noted that Desrosiers’ position at Tate Modern, which she began June 1, is not full-time and will allow her to stay involved with The Gund going forward.
An April press release announcing Desrosiers’ new appointment stated that she “will remain actively engaged with The Gund and the College, continuing to guide its curatorial mission.”
Kornfeld also noted that Desrosiers’ position at Tate Modern, which she began June 1, is not a full-time position and will allow her to stay involved with The Gund going forward.
“I am no longer serving as the museum’s day-to-day Director and Chief Curator, but I remain deeply engaged as the curatorial and strategic lead,” Desrosiers wrote in a message to the Collegian. She explained that she sees both her new role and The Gund’s search for a new director as opportunities to build on The Gund’s recent growth, including the expansion of its permanent collection and its 2025 national museum accreditation. “I will continue to be involved in shaping the curatorial program, exhibitions, collection development, and longer-term strategic questions… I want to make sure that the transition in leadership strengthens rather than interrupts that momentum,” Desrosiers said.
Desrosiers and Kornfeld both stressed that the transition should not disrupt The Gund’s programming or the student experience; the existing staff will continue leading the ongoing programs, educational initiatives, collecting and administrative work.
She explained that the transition has already started. Desrosiers said that an interim director will soon be appointed, and focus is now shifting to find the next long-term director: “The search is an important next step, and it is being approached with the seriousness it deserves. The College, The Gund’s board and other stakeholders will be thinking carefully about the kind of leadership the institution needs for its next chapter.”
Reflecting on The Gund’s accomplishments in its first decade and what the next 15 years hold, Kornfeld said, “I think this is the next [question], ‘How do we take the museum to the next level?’ And [we’re] looking for someone who has experience at that level, who is ready to help us grow The Gund to make it even more profoundly, reputationally wonderful, and build it for the future.”
In considering the qualities of her successor, Desrosiers wrote, “Most importantly, I hope the next leader sees The Gund not as a small museum that happens to be on a college campus, but as a teaching museum whose location and relationship to Kenyon are precisely what make it distinctive.”