March 31, 2010 - Marsha Semmel, Deputy Director for Museums and Director for Strategic Partnerships, will serve as Acting Director of the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS). Semmel assumed the leadership role on March 14, following the departure of IMLS Director Anne-Imelda M. Radice, Ph.D., an art and architecture historian, museum professional, and administrator, whose term ended on March 13. Semmel will lead the agency until a new director is nominated and confirmed for a four-year term. The IMLS directorship alternates between individuals from the museum and library communities.
Since 2003, Semmel has been a member of the agency’s leadership team. As Deputy Director for Museums, she manages IMLS’s portfolio of grant-making programs that support capacity-building and leadership projects for all types of museums. As Director for Strategic Partnerships, Semmel maintains oversight of partnership activities, initiates and implements collaborations with other federal agencies and organizations, and manages special projects and initiatives.
From 1998 to 2002, Semmel was president and CEO of the Women of the West Museum in Denver. Prior to that, she was president and CEO of Conner Prairie, a living history museum in Indianapolis. From 1984 to 1996, Semmel worked at the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH), first as a program officer, then assistant director for Humanities Projects in Museums and Historical Organizations, and finally as director, Division of Public Programs.
Additional information on the transition is available on the
IMLS website.
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