July 1, 2019
I am pleased to announce that John Weber will be the new executive director for the University of Oregon’s Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, replacing Jill Hartz who announced her retirement last fall.
Currently, John serves as the founding director of the Institute of the Arts and Sciences at University of California Santa Cruz. He comes to us with a distinguished track record working in both academic and public art museums, and his background in fundraising, museum education work, and guiding major curatorial projects will add enormous value to the JSMA, the university, and our entire community.
John joined UC Santa Cruz in 2013, where his work is particularly transformative. The institute he leads has been an integral part of making solid connections between faculty, students, and the community around art and bringing visiting artists and scholars to campus. He has been responsible for building the institute’s profile through traveling exhibitions and curatorial projects linked to teaching and research.
He launched an artist-in-residence program to develop additional exhibitions and academic collaborations, and invited a variety of internationally renowned artists to display their works at UC Santa Cruz, including Janet Cardiff and George Bures Miller, Ursula Biemann, Angela Melitopoulos, Newton Harrison and Helen Mayer Harrison, and Harrell Fletcher.
Prior to Santa Cruz, John served as the Dayton Director of the Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Art Gallery at Skidmore College from 2004 to 2012, also serving as a professor of liberal studies. He was the Leanne and George Roberts Curator of Education and Public Programs at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art from 1993 to 2004.
John also has significant ties to Oregon. He was born and raised in Corvallis, and began his museum and gallery career in Portland. He served as curator of contemporary art at the Portland Art Museum (1987-93); curator of the Vollum Gallery at Reed College (1985-88); and executive director for the Northwest Artists Workshop (1985-86).
John starts in his new position on Oct. 1. Jill Hartz will remain in her role through September 2019 in order to maintain a smooth transition for the JSMA and its staff.
Sincerely,
Scott Pratt
Executive Vice Provost