The city of Springfield has announced two Springfield Art Museum director finalists as potential successors to Jerry Berger, who retired late last year.
Connie Gibbons and Nick Nelson today are scheduled to interview with the Art Museum Board, meet with the city manager and other city leaders, and great the public at 5 p.m. during a meet-and-greet session at the art museum, 1111 E. Brookside Drive, according to a news release.
"As with previous searches for the police chief and the director of aviation, we have been deliberate about gathering community input during this search," City Manager Greg Burris said in the release. Public input from the meet-and-greet is incorporated into the interview process.
"I am committed to an open and transparent process when it comes to hiring those who lead some of our community's most vital institutions," Burris added.
Gibbons, who serves as executive director Nicolaysen Art Museum in Casper, Wyo., also was the founding director of B.B. King Museum and Delta Interpretive Center in Indianola, Miss., and The Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock, Texas. A 1984 art degree graduate of Drury University and master's graduate of Texas Tech University, Gibbons has more than 25 years of related experience. During her career, Gibbons has helped develop contemporary art exhibitions, construct new facilities and conduct new programs, the release said.
As executive director of Albany Museum of Art since 2009, Nelson has led the Albany, Ga., museum to expand its outreach and education programs, construct facility upgrades, form community and state partnerships with other museums and organizations, and achieve reaccreditation with the American Association of Museums. Nelson, who earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Georgia universities, also taught drawing and design at Georgia Southern University, according to the release.
Roughly 132 applications were submitted for the Springfield Art Museum's top post after the city began a nationwide search in February. The Art Museum Board will choose the next director.
In October, three separate finalists were selected for the position, but the board didn't offer any of them the job, according to
Springfield Business Journal archives.
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