New executive director James Baker in a 2006 photo.
The Pilchuck Glass School board has announced that a former arts college president will take over as executive director, making a permanent appointment at the top administrative position that was vacated in December 2009 with the resignation of Arthur Jacobus. Effective July 15th, James Baker will take over from the interim executive director, becoming the third person to serve in this capacity since Patricia Watkinson retired in 2008.
Baker served as president of the Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine, a position he had held since 2006, just the latest in a three-decades-long career in arts administration. The Pilchuck announcement emphasizes Baker’s experience executing strategic plans and leading capital and endowment campaigns.
“We are lucky to have found Jim,” interim executive director Wallace and Pilchuck Trustee said in a prepared statement. “He brings just the right combination of experience and vision to lead Pilchuck into its 40th year and beyond.”
“I am honored to be chosen for this position and I’m enthusiastic about my new job,” says Baker in a prepared statement. “I have been aware of Pilchuck since its founding and have followed its progress over the years. Few organizations in any field of endeavor can claim the kind of pivotal and influential role in developing a field of practice as Pilchuck can in glass.
Baker received a BA from Pennsylvania State University in 1973 . He earned an MFA in photography from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1975. He will be moving to the Seattle area with his wife and daughter this summer.