After 16 years as president of the Corning Museum of Glass, Marie McKee will retire at the end of this year. Current museum executive director Karol Wight will take on the additional title of president. A newly created position of deputy director of collections and exhibitions will be filled in January 2015 to provide administrative oversight to the expanding museum that will see a new 26,000-square-foot gallery opening this December.
“When I became president," said McKee in a prepared statement, "I envisioned building a museum whose programming and scholarship would make a significant local and global impact.”
Since her appointment in 1998, museum attendance has doubled from 220,000 to over 420,000 annual visitors and visitation lengths have increased from 1.25 to 4.25 hours. This is due, no doubt, to the significant changes the museum has undergone in that time. Opening in 2001, McKee directed a $65 million reconstruction project, which opened in 2001. This renovation included an expanded facility for the museum’s Rakow Research Library, an expansion of its Studio to include a glassmaking experience for visitors, the creation of the popular "Hot Glass Show," and an overhaul of the museum's main building.
“I’m proud of what has been accomplished," she said, and she is not done yet.
Before her retirement on December 31, 2014, she will oversee the opening of a new North Wing, which will include a 26,000 square foot contemporary glass gallery and a 500-seat glassmaking demonstration space, making it one of the largest spaces dedicated to contemporary glass in the world. The addition will add a total of 100,000 square feet to the museum's current 173,000 square feet of facility space.
As far as Karol Wight is concerned, McKee has no doubt she will continue this forward momentum of success. "In 2011, I worked with the board to identify Karol Wight as the executive director who would become president after my retirement," she said. "Karol has had a remarkable start in her first three years as executive director, building strong teams and programs and establishing international relationships for the Museum. She has built a very strong foundation for the future and I’m pleased to welcome her as my replacement."
Before she started as the executive director at the Corning Museum of Glass, Wight worked at the J. Paul Getty Museum for 26 years. There, she was senior curator of antiquities, as well as the overseer of a $275 million renovation, expansion, and re-installation of exhibits, making her uniquely qualified to be both president and executive director.
“I have been privileged to work with and learn from Marie and I’m looking forward to building on her accomplishments to further the Museum’s role as a global leader in glass scholarship and education, and as a prime international cultural destination,” said Wight.
In order to make Wight's transition as seamless as possible, several new positions will be added to the museum's staff.
A deputy director of collections and exhibitions will be appointed in January of 2015 and will be in charge of the Rakow Research Library, The Studio, and overseeing the education, digital media, conservation and collections management departments. Scott Sayre, as the museum's first cheif digital officer, will be responsible for the museum's website, as well its broader internet presence. Kris Wetterlund, who has been an art museum educator for 20 years, has been appointed as director of education and interpretation and will strategize on how best to meet the needs of the diverse audiences that the museum serves. Sayre and Wetterlund are co-founders of Sandbox Studios, a group based in Minnieaplois that works with museums and other non-profits to create educational programs through the use of technology. Both will start on June16.
The new role of chief operating officer, which will dictate business operations and keep track of earned revenue and visititation, will be assumed by Alan Eusden in September 2015. Eusden has a bachelor’s degree in economics with a concentration in environmental studies from Williams College and an MBA from the Fuqua School of Business at Duke University. Additionally, he has been an active member of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei and has been elected as the Chairman of the Chamber’s Board of Governors three times. “We felt that Alan’s international business experience and his dedication to the regional non-profit community were a perfect fit for our organization," Wight said, "and we look forward to having Alan join the management team here at the Museum.”