Smart Museum of Art Dana Feitler Director

Department
 

Provost UChicago Arts

About the Department
 

The Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago is a site for rigorous inquiry and exchange that encourages the examination of complex issues through the lens of art objects and artistic practice. The Museum has long served as a model for academic art museums by combining the University’s deep-seated commitment to intense creative and intellectual engagement and open dialogue with Chicago’s entrepreneurial spirit, the South Side’s robust creative communities, and global arts perspectives that bridge lines of culture, language and lived experience. As the Smart approaches its 50th anniversary, the University of Chicago is keen to support its dynamic role in expanding artistic canons, rethinking received histories, introducing new perspectives, and engaging diverse communities – locally, nationally, and internationally. Founded as the David and Alfred Smart Gallery in 1974, the museum was renamed to the David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art in 1990. Through strong community and scholarly partnerships, the Museum incorporates diverse ideas, identities and experiences into its exhibitions and collections, academic inquiry and public programs. The collection’s 16,000+ objects are used by curators, scholars, students, community members, and others to support inquiry and exchange. Over 51,000 visitors annually experience the Smart, with exhibitions and programs highlighting permanent collections, works by contemporary artists, and objects on loan from institutional partners and private collectors. The Museum is located on campus and interacts with a robust ecosystem of arts-focused units, initiatives, programs, and organizations including The Smart Museum's own Feitler Center for Academic Inquiry which advances teaching and learning across the University’s departments and disciplines through intense engagements with the Museum's collections; a renowned Department of Art History and one of the country’s best studio programs in the Department of Visual Arts; and a number of arts research centers and institutes, University-wide arts initiatives and professional arts organizations and campus collections that complement the Smart’s holdings.

Job Summary
 

The Director provides comprehensive artistic vision, administration, leadership, and oversight of the Museum staff. The Director works to secure the Museum’s position as an innovative leader among academic art museums; champions the signal importance of the visual arts, arts education, curatorial practice, and scholarship; ensures that the Museum connects with and is accessible to the local community; and oversees Museum collections, exhibitions operations, finances, and fundraising. The Director is the Smart Museum's public advocate and ambassador, and is an active partner to the Board of Governors, the University community, and broader arts constituents locally, nationally, and internationally.
Given the Museum’s importance as an educational and cultural asset, the University’s leadership is poised to invest in and support the Director’s bold strategic vision. The Director will redefine the role of an academic museum in the 21st century and reenforce the Smart Museum’s role as a destination on campus and in the city, as a place of welcome, stimulation and contemplation for students, faculty, staff, and the citizens of Chicago’s South Side and beyond for years to come. The University promotes an extraordinarily rich and concentrated environment for cross-collaboration, organizational cooperation, and innovative interdisciplinary arts programming. Beyond its role within the University, Chicago and the United States, the Smart Museum engages and influences art and its exhibition internationally through the University’s global centers in Beijing, Delhi, Hong Kong, London, and Paris.
With guidance and support from the Smart’s Board and staff, University scholars and administrators, artists, institutional partners and community leaders, the Director will develop a compelling and ambitious vision for a sophisticated, innovative, inclusive academic museum of the 21st century.
The Smart Museum currently employs 23 full-time staff and over 50 part-time employees, with management support provided by UChicago Arts and the Office of the Provost. That support encompasses development, marketing & communications, facilities maintenance & operations, financial services, and human resources. The endowment is approximately $26 million, of which about 30 percent is restricted in support of acquisitions. Annual giving (excluding gifts in kind and of art) averages $1.25 million including support from foundations and individuals.
The Director reports to the Provost's Office. The Museum benefits from the advice and advocacy of a 27-member Board of Governors in addition to the Feitler Center Advisory Committee. The Board consists of local, national, and international arts patrons who support and advance the museum’s mission through a series of committees and quarterly meetings. The Museum is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums; its director is a longstanding member of the Association of Art Museum Directors.

Responsibilities

• Develops and communicates a comprehensive vision encompassing curation, exhibition, collections, and programming that is compelling, distinctive, imaginative, sustainable and that reflects the strengths and ambitions of the University of Chicago.
• Positions the Museum within the University as an important and valuable partner for art experiences that are central to the intellectual life of the University.
• Positions the Museum locally, nationally, and internationally as a thought leader in reconceiving and expanding narratives.
• Manages the Museum’s resources and strengthen accountability for delivering outcomes.
• Oversees and exercises discretion over the Museum’s budget. 
• Drives fundraising and in-kind donations of art to assure long-term strength in finances and collections.
• Strengthens philanthropic support to advance an aggressive agenda,  partnering with the Board of Governors and the University of Chicago Office of Alumni Relations & Development to increase major gift fundraising and attract new institutional and individual donors. (The Smart Museum’s operating costs are funded by a combination of endowment income, individual and institutional giving, as well as university support.)
• Assumes a key leadership role in this constellation of arts institutions, invested individuals, and cultural institutions on and around campus, exploring ways in which the Smart Museum can contribute meaningfully to this environment and engage creatively with it, seeking out new partnerships, collaborators, and audiences.
• Manages managers and professional staff. Establishes performance goals, allocates resources and assesses policies for direct subordinates.
• Develops an intellectual vision and long-term strategic plan for the museum. Maintains the fiscal health of the museum, managing the budget and operating cost and fundraising efforts.
• Maintains relationships with individual and institutional supporters. Engages the University community and community at large to enhance the museum's ability to serve as an academic resource for students, faculty, and the public.
• Performs other related work as needed.

Minimum Qualifications
 

Education:

Minimum requirements include a college or university degree in related field.

---
Work Experience:

Minimum requirements include knowledge and skills developed through 7+ years of work experience in a related job discipline.

---
Certifications:

---

Preferred Qualifications

Education:

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Advanced degree.

Preferred Competencies

• A thorough commitment to the complexity and revelatory potential of art.  
• Commitment to rigorous inquiry, appetite for vigorous and inclusive debate, willingness to take risks, and intellectual independence and creativity.
• Broad vision and curiosity; boldness of ideas. A keen and informed interest in the work of faculty, students, and departments, and a desire to support and amplify their goals. Demonstrated orientation to collaboration, cooperation, and exchange.
• An audacious thinker with a record of successful executive leadership, including visionary thinking, strategic planning and implementation, board and community engagement, and program development and assessment.
• A record of effective management of physical, human, and financial resources. A deep understanding of and interest in financial and budget oversight and the interplay of institutional priorities, planning, resource requirements, and revenue generation. Substantial and successful fundraising experience; additional professional experience that reflects the development of robust support networks.
• A record of dedication to and success in the advancement of diversity, inclusion, and accessibility. Model and establish a culture of mutual respect, transparency, and empowerment.
• A management style that relies on open and responsive communication and reflects the highest professional and ethical standards. A collaborative approach to decision making, combined with a sense of energy, enthusiasm, and an entrepreneurial capacity to move things forward. A direct but diplomatic style. Consistency, maturity, and composure in presentation and interpersonal dealings.
• Intellectual and emotional integrity, empathy, curiosity, and creativity. Confidence; comfort with ambiguity; patience and persistence. Openness to the opinions of others, coupled with independent thought. Honesty, tact, generosity, perspective, and good humor.

Application Documents

• Resume/CV (required)
• Cover Letter (preferred)
• References Contact Information (3)(preferred)
• The University of Chicago has retained m/Oppenheim (https://www.moppenheim.com/ )  to support this recruitment. Lee Kappelman, Principal, is leading the search. For full consideration, inquiries, applications, and nominations must be sent by email to Lee Kappelman at [email protected] . Please note all job seekers wishing to be considered for the position must also submit their materials through the University’s Workday site.

When applying, the document(s) MUST  be uploaded via the My Experience page, in the section titled Application Documents of the application.

Job Family
 

Museum & Arts

Role Impact
 

People Manager

FLSA Status
 

Exempt

Pay Frequency
 

Monthly

Scheduled Weekly Hours
 

37.5

Benefits Eligible
 

Yes

Requires Compliance with University Covid-19 Vaccination Requirement
 

Yes

Drug Test Required
 

No

Health Screen Required
 

No

Motor Vehicle Record Inquiry Required
 

No

Posting Statement
 

Employees must comply with the University’s COVID-19 vaccination requirements. More information about the requirements can be found on the University of Chicago Vaccination GoForward .
The University of Chicago is an Affirmative Action/ Equal Opportunity/Disabled/Veterans Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national or ethnic origin, age, status as an individual with a disability, protected veteran status, genetic information, or other protected classes under the law. For additional information please see the University's Notice of Nondiscrimination.

 

Staff Job seekers in need of a reasonable accommodation to complete the application process should call 773-702-5800 or submit a request via Applicant Inquiry Form.

 

We seek a diverse pool of applicants who wish to join an academic community that places the highest value on rigorous inquiry and encourages a diversity of perspectives, experiences, groups of individuals, and ideas to inform and stimulate intellectual challenge, engagement, and exchange.

 

All offers of employment are contingent upon a background check that includes a review of conviction history.  A conviction does not automatically preclude University employment.  Rather, the University considers conviction information on a case-by-case basis and assesses the nature of the offense, the circumstances surrounding it, the proximity in time of the conviction, and its relevance to the position.

 

The University of Chicago's Annual Security & Fire Safety Report (Report) provides information about University offices and programs that provide safety support, crime and fire statistics, emergency response and communications plans, and other policies and information. The Report can be accessed online at: http://securityreport.uchicago.edu . Paper copies of the Report are available, upon request, from the University of Chicago Police Department, 850 E. 61st Street, Chicago, IL 60637.