Executive Director, Harvard Museums of Science & Culture
Our Client
The Harvard Museums of Science & Culture (HMSC) is a groundbreaking partnership of Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS) museums. Together these museums are the stewards of more than 28 million objects that reflect Harvard's ongoing commitment to discovery, scholarship, and education. The goal of HMSC is to advance new models of collaboration and programming that provide a window into these extraordinary collections, as well as to integrate the public activity of the FAS museums, advance collaborations across the University, and foster partnerships with the wider community. HMSC invites members of the community on campus and beyond to connect with Harvard University's distinctive collections and vital research on human civilizations, biodiversity, and the history of Earth and science.
Structure & Mission
HMSC was established in 2012 as the public-facing entity for the six research museums that are organizationally based and supported within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences at Harvard University:
- Peabody Museum of Archaeology & Ethnology
- Harvard Museum of Natural History
- Harvard University Herbaria (Botanical Museum)
- Mineralogical and Geological Museum
- Museum of Comparative Zoology
- Collection of Historical Scientific Instruments
- Harvard Semitic Museum
The mission of the Harvard Museums of Science & Culture (HMSC) is to foster curiosity and a spirit of discovery in visitors of all ages and backgrounds, enhancing public understanding of and appreciation for the natural world, science, and human cultures. HMSC works in concert with Harvard faculty, museum curators and students, as well as with members of the extended Harvard community, to provide interdisciplinary exhibitions, events, lectures, and educational programs for students, teachers, and the general public. HMSC draws primarily upon the extensive collections of the member museums and the research of their faculty and curators. The Museum cultivates and maintains interdisciplinary linkages across campus and into the community, and reaches broad and diverse audiences through exhibits, festivals, and robust partnerships. Administratively at Harvard University, HMSC operates within the Office of the Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.
Track Record of Impact
Over the last five years museum attendance has increased by 34 percent to more than 300,000 visitors annually, and attendees at public programs have doubled. Close to 1,000 educators have taken part in K-12 professional development activities that have ranged from in-school visits by our staff to multi-day institutes. The HMSC team has opened twenty-one exhibitions, including four new permanent galleries. More than 150 faculty from across Harvard have been directly involved in HMSC activities, acting as exhibit curators, presenters, and advisers on program development.
Harvard students also actively participate on the newly established HMSC Student Board, carry out curatorial research, train as docents to give museum tours, and create and teach public programs. Collaborative programs such as the Harvard Museums' Seminar on Innovative Curatorial Practice and Native American Running: Culture, Health, Sport afforded opportunities for students and the public to explore new scholarship together.
HMSC's social media presence has grown exponentially and they introduced online adult lectures and K-12 programs. The annual Summer Solstice outdoor evening festival has delighted thousands of people with performances, demonstrations, craft activities, food trucks, and free admission. These, and many other significant accomplishments, provide the foundations for HMSC's robust future.
Strategic Plan & Vision for the Future
HMSC's first strategic plan identified initiatives to establish HMSC as a vibrant part of the communities at Harvard and beyond both on and off-campus. They aspired to create innovative and engaging exhibits, distinctive educational programs, and unique student experiences. They also sought to advance activities in areas that sit across traditionally distinct subjects by promoting cross-disciplinary and interdisciplinary programs.
As the team look forward, they will focus on issues that matter to their communities and continue to prioritize their multi-generational and diverse audience. As the public face of the FAS museums, they will convey the excitement of research, discovery, and the pursuit and advancement of knowledge by creating lifelong learning experiences that focus on the University's scholarship and collections. They will advance discussions on the vital questions of our time, to provide a meeting point in encouraging dialogue and learning for scholars and the general public.
They will help FAS deliver an outstanding student experience using Harvard's collections and galleries for unique educational opportunities that prepare students to communicate to wide audiences and to be global citizens. And they will continue to further Harvard's priorities and values, especially those around inclusion and sustainability, encouraging broad participation and respect for all people and their ideas Through deliberate intention and effort, HMSC will continue to champion diversity, equity, access, and inclusion as integral to their work. In all these ways HMSC will make an important contribution to the University's purpose - to advance knowledge and serve society.
HMSC benefits from exceptional resources that they can use to achieve the ambitious goals in this plan. Most notable are the holdings of the six research museums. These unparalleled collections enable HMSC to center their programs on an object and evidence-based learning and offer different "ways" of accessing and interacting with information. In addition, their position at the heart of an academic community dedicated to being at the forefront of research, teaching and learning presents an opportunity to connect to cutting-edge research and scholarship.
Innovation and experimentation will be a hallmark of HMSC's activities. Leveraging their position as a partnership of museums from many research areas, they will continue to expand cross-disciplinary programming, collaboration, and engage scholars from across Harvard and beyond. They will leverage Harvard's growing digital collections and partner creatively on digital initiatives generated by the Harvard community. To ensure HMSC's programs are audience-centered and foster authentic connections between the Harvard campus and the public, they will build partnerships with a variety of groups and communities. They will cultivate a learning and data-driven attitude in all areas of our activities, using new tools to enhance our operations, understand the needs of our audiences, and improve their programs.
The Role
Reporting to the Edgerley Family Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences of Harvard University, the Executive Director leads the Harvard Museums of Science and Culture, with responsibility for all public-facing aspects of the research museums. The Executive Director also works closely with the HMSC Faculty Executive Board, which is appointed by and reports to the FAS Dean, on planning and assessment, policies and standards and coordination of activities with the museums. The Faculty Executive Board includes the faculty leaders of the six research museums and other FAS and University stakeholders.
The Executive Director will encourage the creation of a sound and balanced approach to exhibitions, education, programming, and external communications that draws upon the collective talents of HMSC's staff, highlighting and drawing on the diversity and strengths of the museums' collections so as to continue to expand, intrigue, and engage the audiences across campus and throughout surrounding communities. Moreover, the Executive Director will work with staff to bolster HMSC's reputation as an inclusive, accessible, engaging, and welcoming partnership of museums.
The Executive Director serves as an advocate for learning through engagement with the collections and research originating in the research museums. This individual will work closely with the faculty leadership and curators of each of the museums to plan and develop a comprehensive, coordinated, inclusive and interdisciplinary outreach program for students, teachers and the general public that will highlight and leverage the extensive collections and research at Harvard. The Executive Director will take the lead in working with staff and key stakeholders to continue implementation of the HMSC's strategic plan.
Primary areas of oversight include:
- Exhibition planning and implementation;
- K-12 and other formal and informal educational programs;
- Public lectures and events;
- Public participation for each museum within the HMSC;
- Membership and development;
- Visitor services;
- Community outreach;
- Operations, including facilities;
- Internal and external communications;
- Add in detail around strategic plan.
The Director is responsible for the Museum's personnel (a staff of 45) and the financial management of a budget of approximately $5.5 million.
Candidate Profile
The Executive Director of HMSC must have outstanding leadership abilities, with experience in a senior role at a museum or similarly complex organization. The successful candidate must have excellent organizational and strategic skills, a demonstrated ability to build teamwork and manage people effectively, and a record of fostering inclusive, welcoming work environments. The ability and inclination to collaborate effectively with faculty and academic administrators is essential, as HMSC does not directly manage all aspects of the research museums. Given that the Executive Director represents the Museum across and beyond the University, they must enjoy operating in the public arena, speaking in a variety of public settings, and be highly adept at building creative and inclusive alliances.
The successful candidate will ideally have professional experience that includes:
- Developing and implementing compelling interdisciplinary programs targeted to various audience segments;
- Strong written and verbal skills;
- Working effectively as part of a leadership team characterized by trust, open communication, and shared goals;
- Ability to build collaborative relationships successfully with multiple constituencies and within complex governance structures;
- Ability to create engaging programs that leverage the intellectual as well as physical assets of the museums;
- Experience developing effective communication processes and building relationships at all levels of an organization;
- Driving strategic resource planning and budgeting, operations and risk management;
- Recruiting, developing, and retaining a high-performing workforce;
- Building diversity and instilling values related to equity and inclusion;
- Building a customer service culture;
- Track record of generating revenue through legacy giving, major gifts, corporate sponsorships, foundation/state/federal grants, and memberships.
Basic Qualifications:
- MA/MS required; Advanced degree in museum studies, science, art, historic preservation, or related fields;
- At least 10 years progressive administrative leadership experience;
- Experience leading budget development and management;
- Minimum 5 years' experience working in a museum, library, academic and/or collections-based organization.
Contact
Harvard University has engaged Russell Reynolds Associates exclusively for this search.