DIRECTOR UNIVERSITY OF STATE a major natural history museum

The University of Nebraska–Lincoln seeks a Director for the University of Nebraska State Museum (UNSM). This is an opportunity to advance a major natural history museum with significant collections and strong research and public programs. UNSM has an annual budget of $3M, faculty and staff of 40, and visitation of 100,000 at its campus headquarters and two remote locations. The Museum will celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2021.

The Museum is a comprehensive natural history museum with research collections of more than 5 million specimens in , parasitology, entomology, geology, zoology, botany, and anthropology. It is among the 25 largest natural history in the U.S. The Museum has strong, federally-funded research, education and outreach programs and close collaborations with university programs, school districts and the public. It is accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is a Smithsonian Affiliate.

The Museum’s exhibits are primarily housed in Morrill Hall, a four-story building that includes permanent and changing exhibit galleries, the Mueller Planetarium, the Marx Discovery Center, and the Discovery Shop. Research collections are housed in nearby Nebraska Hall. The Museum also operates two remote locations, Ashfall Beds State Park near Royal and the Trailside Museum of Natural History at State Park in Crawford. For more, visit http://museum.unl.edu

The Museum is part of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), which is a member of the and its academic equivalent, the Committee on Institutional Cooperation. UNL is a land- grant university with three primary missions: teaching, research and service. The state’s flagship university, UNL offers undergraduate and graduate education to a student body of close to 25,000. In addition to the Nebraska State Museum, UNL is home to two other accredited museums: and the International Quilt Study Center and Museum, and numerous smaller galleries such as the . Director reports to the Vice Chancellor for Research and Economic Development. For more about UNL, visit http://irp.unl.edu/publications/JTF_2013- 2014.pdf

Lincoln, the capital of Nebraska, is a vibrant city of 269,000 people. It consistently ranks high among U.S. cities for livability thanks to low cost of living, great schools, low crime and unemployment rates, and friendly, community-minded residents. The city is home to numerous museums and galleries and several performing arts centers. Opportunities for outdoor recreation include several parks and 130 miles of hiking and biking trails, as well as boating and fishing nearby. Sports enthusiasts can enjoy UNL athletics--Nebraska fields 23 men's and women's teams in 14 sports--as well as professional baseball and hockey.

Near the geographic center of the U.S., Lincoln is conveniently located. Chicago, Denver, St. Louis, Minneapolis, and Kansas City are only an hour away by air, or within a day’s drive. Omaha, the state’s largest city is only an hour’s drive from Lincoln. Both the east and west coasts are a half-day flight away. To learn more about Lincoln, see http://www.unl.edu/lincoln/

KEY OPPORTUNITIES The opportunities of the position include the chance to: • Direct a large highly-respected AAM-accredited natural history museum with regionally and internationally significant collections and strong research, education, and outreach programs • Develop a new vision for the Museum and oversee its implementation • Advance a museum that is on an upward trajectory and ready to move forward under a dynamic and visionary new leader • Oversee a major redevelopment of the fourth floor of Morrill Hall for new Museum exhibits. A campaign to raise $11.4 million is in progress. • Lead a museum that enriches the lives of a broad public audience, including many children (future scientists and policy makers), as well as serving the University community • Oversee important research in your academic field • Be tenured in an appropriate department, if merited

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES • Provide vision and dynamic leadership to continue to elevate the Museum’s national and international standing o Develop a vision for the Museum, and, with partners, create and implement a strategic plan o In keeping with the vision and plan, oversee and expand facilities, including Morrill Hall redevelopment • Enhance and expand relationships within the University, including relevant academic departments and University administrators o Serve as the Museum’s liaison to academic departments, UNL administration, University of Nebraska (NU) Foundation, and Friends of the University of Nebraska State Museum • Develop a sustainable long-term funding model for the Museum, including for exhibits, education, staffing, and research o Develop external funding sources, including identifying potential corporate sponsors, grant-making agencies, and individual donors o Work with the UNL Foundation to cultivate donors and secure donations • Enhance collections-based research in the Museum o Work with and their departments to set goals for their work with the Museum o Facilitate scholarly research utilizing the collections o Integrate Museum activities, such as exhibits and programs, with academic research to increase the public’s awareness, understanding, and support of research at UNL o Oversee care of and, as appropriate, expansion of collections

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• Develop new external partnerships while building on existing ones o Utilize the Museum’s position as a major component of the public face of UNL in the community to engage new audiences and supporters • Enhance/expand current education programs and develop new ones • Collaborate on exhibitions and programs with other UNL museums and, as appropriate, with partners in the community • Oversee annual operating budget of $3M • Supervise staff of 40 • Oversee the Museum’s remote locations near Royal and Crawford

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, EXPERIENCE, AND ABILITIES The successful applicant will have: • An earned doctorate in science, in a field related to the Museum’s collections o The Director may be tenured in an appropriate department, if merited. • Leadership experience in a natural history or science museum o Knowledge of how academic museums are organized and function o Experience in an academic museum setting desirable, but not required • Proven track record of forming a vision for one’s museum or department and working with appropriate stakeholders to implement it o Experience in strategic and/or institutional planning a plus o Experience in building renovation/expansion a plus • Demonstrated leadership skills o Ability to unite the Museum staff and the University faculty in a shared vision for the museum and to communicate that vision to University administration and supporters o Ability to balance the needs of multiple constituents, ranging from families with children to school groups to University students, faculty, and visiting scholars o Willingness to think creatively o Ability to meet the challenge of guiding an organization to its full potential • Demonstrated fundraising skills and track record of fundraising successes o Knowledge of how research grants work, and the ability to facilitate applications and monitor projects o Track record of identifying and cultivating external funding sources, including individuals, government agencies and corporations o Experience working in tandem with a Friends’ group, Foundation, or similar group a plus • Strong interpersonal skills o Ability to work with a variety of people, including museum staff, faculty curators, UNL administrators, Friends of the Museum, NU Foundation, community partners o A sociable personality that enjoys interacting with other people o Track record of engaging new external partners o Successful at managing people, relationships, and, on occasion, conflict o Strong verbal and written communication skills

HOW TO APPLY • Apply in confidence. Send résumé (Word document preferred), cover letter, desired salary range, and names and contact information for 3 references to retained search firm: Gail Nessell Colglazier, [email protected] by February 24, 2015.

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• Nominations welcome. Please send name and contact information of nominee(s) to Gail Nessell Colglazier, [email protected]. • References will not be contacted without prior permission of the applicant. • Screening of applications will continue until the completion of the search process. Position open until filled. • The University of Nebraska is committed to a pluralistic campus community through affirmative action, equal opportunity, work-life balance, and dual careers.

More about the Museum • The University of Nebraska State Museum is fully accredited by the American Alliance of Museums and is a Smithsonian Affiliate. • Morrill Hall: The museum’s Morrill Hall, where most exhibits are housed, boasts the world’s premier collection of fossil elephants, including the world’s tallest mounted mammoth (called “Archie”), on display in Elephant Hall Gallery. Visitors can interact with hands-on exhibits in the Marx Science Discovery Center or experience an immersive full-dome show in Mueller Planetarium. New exhibits include “Bizarre Beasts” and “Minerals & Meteorites.” Other highlights include exhibits on dinosaurs, evolution, Nebraska wildlife, Paleozoic life, and Native American cultures of the past and present, as well as galleries with exhibits of weapons and African artifacts. See http://research.unl.edu/about-the-museum/ for more about the Museum.

Elephant Hall Mueller Planetarium

First Peoples of the Plains Gallery Mesozoic Gallery

• The Museum has two branch museums operated in cooperation with the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission: • At Ashfall Fossil Beds State Historical Park near Royal, hundreds of skeletons of prehistoric animals have been found in a volcanic ash bed buried beneath the farmlands of northeastern Nebraska. Museum crews continue to excavate some of the best-preserved

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fossil rhinos, , and birds known in the world. Visitors can experience interpretive displays, visit the fossil preparation lab, and ask the paleontologists about their work. In the 18,000-square-foot Hubbard Rhino Barn, skeletons are uncovered and displayed in the death positions in which they were found. • The Trailside Museum of Natural History in Fort Robinson State Historical Park in northwest Nebraska displays “Clash of the Mammoths”, two bull mammoths whose tusks are locked in their final combat. Other exhibits focus on Tertiary from western Nebraska. The museum also features present-day animal and plant life and the geologic history of the region.

Fossils at Ashfall Fossil Beds State Park Exhibit at the Trailside Museum

• For more about Ashfall Fossil Beds State Park and Fort Robinson State Park, see http://ashfall.unl.edu/ and http://trailside.unl.edu/.

About the Collections The Museum research collections (anthropology, botany, entomology, geology, paleontology, parasitology, zoology) total over 5 million specimens and objects. • The museum’s Vertebrate Paleontology collection of fossils, with more than one million numbered specimens, is an important national resource. More than 85,000 have been cataloged systematically. Later Cenozoic (late Eocene through Pleistocene) from Nebraska and adjacent states make up the bulk of the collection, but holdings of Paleozoic fishes, Mesozoic marine reptiles, and Cenozoic lower vertebrates are also significant. • The Division of Invertebrate Paleontology includes the invertebrate fossil collection of the Nebraska Geological Survey. • The Parasitology collection in the Manter Laboratory is the world’s fifth largest collection of parasitic organisms, and ranks second in the nation after the U.S. national collection now held by the Smithsonian. The collection is vital to studies of biodiversity and conservation worldwide. • The Division of Entomology houses approximately two million insects and arachnids. It ranks in the top ten university collections in North America and represents one of only three existing collections with large holdings of Great Plains material. UNL’s scarab beetle collection is the fourth largest in the world. The U.S. National Collection of Scarab Beetles is on long-term loan to the Museum. • The Division of Zoology’s collections include over 11,000 specimens of birds, and more than 14,000 specimens of mammals (primarily from Nebraska). The wet collections preserved in ethanol include 440,000 individual fish and 18,800 amphibians and reptiles. • The Botany collections are housed in the Bessey Herbarium, founded in 1874. The Herbarium contains more than 310,000 specimens and is among the oldest and largest in

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the Great Plains. Much of the collection is from Nebraska, the Great Plains, and the . • The Anthropology Division curates worldwide ethnological and archaeological collections. The ethnological collection includes over 40,000 artifacts, with particular regional strength in Africa, Native North America, Oceania, and the upper Amazon, and notable holdings worldwide in textiles, basketry, and pottery. The archaeological collection focuses on Nebraska archaeology and is particularly strong in Paleoindian materials. The Egyptian collection of over 300 artifacts includes three mummies, and a representative Central Andes collection includes three mummies from the South Coast of Peru.

About the Museum’s Programs • Through the Division of Informal Science Education, the Museum fulfills its outreach mission in a variety of ways. The museum has embarked on an NIH-funded educational program called Biology of Human/World of Viruses, in collaboration with the Nebraska Center for Virology and the Department of Sociology. The Museum took the lead role in the NSF- funded Explore Evolution project that funded new permanent galleries at UNL and 5 other museums, plus educational research, and production of innovative educational outreach materials, in a major nationwide partnership between science museums and 4-H organizations. • Highway Salvage Paleontology Program In 1960, Nebraska introduced the country’s first paleontological salvage program, based on close cooperation between contractors, the Nebraska Department of Roads, and the Museum. In areas threatened by new construction, Museum paleontologists recover scientific information before construction proceeds. Over 200,000 fossils have been recovered for curation in the Museum during the program. • Sunday with a Scientist is a monthly series highlighting the work of scientists both inside and outside UNL, who educate children and families about science and natural history. • Educational programs for students include inquiry based programs taught in Morrill Hall by museum educators, outreach kits, and a newly-created distance learning program, all linked to state education standards. The Museum also has a contract with the Lincoln Public Schools to provide science education to 3rd and 5th grade students. • The Hubbard Lecture Series helps advance the understanding and appreciation of the cultural heritage of the First Peoples of the Plains.

Scarab Beetle Collection Barbourofelis, Unearthing a deer skull; a carnivore Highway Salvage Program

• For more information about this position and the Museum, visit the museum’s website, http://museum.unl.edu and http://research.unl.edu/museumdirector/

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More about UNL UNL opened its doors in 1869. The University has a student body of approximately 20,000 undergraduate and nearly 5,000 graduate students, and over 2,100 faculty. With students from all 50 states, 135 countries, programs in over 70 nations, and research on all seven continents, UNL engages the world. The school has 194,620 living alumni. UNL ranks among the nation’s “Best Value” colleges and universities according to a February 2013 Princeton Review publication. UNL is one of 150 schools—75 public and 75 private undergraduate institutions—to be included in “The Best Value Colleges: 2013 Edition.”

Main Campus, with downtown in the background Night football game at Memorial Stadium

UNL has nine colleges. Programs in the College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources are most closely aligned with the Museum. UNL facilities include City Campus, East Campus, and the new Nebraska Innovation Campus (NIC). Opened in 2014, NIC is a research campus designed to facilitate partnerships between UNL and the private sector to advance innovation for the 21st Century. UNL is known nationally for its Big Ten Conference sports and membership in the Conference’s academic Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC). The Huskers football team plays at Memorial Stadium. Other teams play at the nearby Bob Devaney Sports Center and the .

More about Lincoln Lincoln is a thriving city that was named #1 U.S. City for Quality of Life by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index in 2012. In 2013 The Daily Beast included Lincoln in the top 20 on its list of America’s thriving cities. It has a young (median age 32), well educated (34% of the populace has at least a bachelor’s degree), and growing population (18% growth from 2000 – 2013). Housing is very affordable, and options range from downtown condos to historic residential neighborhoods to new suburbs.

Downtown and the State Capitol Pinnacle Bank Arena & Historic Haymarket District

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The city has an excellent public school system and close to 30 private and parochial schools. In addition to UNL, the city is home to six other 2- and 4-year colleges. Leading industries are education, government, health care, banking, and insurance. Lincoln was rated #1 on Daily Finance’s 2014 list of America's Healthiest Small Cities, and health care costs are among the lowest in the nation. The city has three full service medical centers and two specialty hospitals.

Lincoln’s vibrant downtown was named #7 on a list of best American downtowns compiled by Livability.com in 2012. The 2,400-seat Lied Center for the Performing Arts hosts events ranging from Broadway shows to Yo Yo Ma to the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. The Pinnacle Bank Arena, a new state-of-the-art multi-purpose arena, presents concerts, family shows, touring acts, and sporting events. Nearby in the Railyard District visitors can dine and shop, watch films and sports on the outdoor screen of “The Cube,” and go ice skating in the winter. The Haymarket Historic District offers great restaurants, unique shopping and fun nightspots in its restored warehouses. In addtion to those on the UNL campus, Lincoln is home to a variety of other museums.

Lied Center for Performing Arts Shopping in Haymarket Watching sports at “The Cube”

International Quilt Study Center Lincoln Children’s Museum Pioneers Park Nature Center and Museum

To learn more about the city, visit: http://www.unl.edu/lincoln/, http://www.lincoln.org, http://www.lcoc.com/, and http://downtownlincoln.org/.

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