EUGENE–Del I. Hawkins will become director of the University of Oregon Museum of Art on July 1, succeeding David Robertson, according to Vice Provost Lorraine Davis.

Hawkins, a marketing professor with a long-standing love for and involvement in the arts, will hold the half-time assignment for 18 months through Dec. 31, 2001.

Robertson, who has resigned effective June 30, will become associate director of the David and Alfred Smart Museum of Art at the University of Chicago on Aug. 14. He has been director of the UO art museum since February 1996.

"We are fortunate to have such a well-qualified person available to step into this key position on short notice to carry forward the momentum begun by David Robertson," Davis says. "Del Hawkins assumed this role previously, before David’s arrival, serving the university and the museum well, and I have every confidence that he will serve us well again, even though the circumstances are very different."

She stressed that final preparations for the UO art museum’s long-range strategic plan, developed during Robertson’s tenure, will not be diminished. The UO master plan is being used as a national model by the American Association of Museums which re-accredited the UO Museum of Art earlier this year.

The vice provost says the committee to undertake a national search to fill the director position permanently will be named during spring term next year. Hawkins has indicated he will not be a candidate to fill the art museum directorship permanently.

In conjunction with this change in leadership, Lawrence Fong, currently the museum’s associate director and curator of Northwest art, will become executive associate director. He will assist Hawkins and oversee many of the day-to-day operations.

Hawkins, who serves on the strategic planning and the public relations and marketing committees of the Museum of Art board of directors, says he’s very excited about the opportunities ahead and the chance to continue building momentum for improving facilities and programs.

"Under David’s leadership, the Museum of Art has made huge progress, and there’s an air of enthusiasm and excitement about the place as we move forward with our fundraising for major expansion and renovation of the venerable museum building," he says. "I anticipate the successful completion of fundraising for this project in the next few months and then I look forward to overseeing groundbreaking and the start of construction."

The museum’s capital campaign, launched several months ago, aims to raise $12 million to finance an expansion project that will more than double the size of the existing 1932 building–listed since 1986 on the National Register of Historic Places. The project also will renovate the museum’s public spaces, galleries and support areas. Private, federal and state contributions already account for nearly $11.5 million. The project is slated for completion in time for the museum to re-open early in 2003.

Hawkins said he also expects to work aggressively in continuing to build endowment support for the art museum’s collections and operations.

Davis and Hawkins agree that Robertson, who has forged new partnerships between the museum and its constituencies on and off campus, leaves the art museum in very good condition. A new director, they say, will find the museum on a firm foundation, ready to exert greater influence in state, regional and national art circles.

"During Robertson’s four-year tenure, the UO art museum’s stature and outreach have grown dramatically so that I consider the directorship will be viewed as a ‘real gem’ of a job when we start the search for a successor," Hawkins says.

Operating under a new charter and mission statement, the Museum of Art created a 30-member board of directors, incorporating the former Museum of Art Council and the Friends of the Museum, to guide the museum’s development. In addition, private support climbed dramatically, and public attendance at museum exhibitions and participation in related educational programming reached all-time highs.

The weekly "MusEvenings!" programs, with extended hours for gallery tours, lectures and music, are an example of the museum’s enhanced outreach effort. "MusEvenings!" was recognized at the American Association of Museums’ 1999 annual meeting as one of the eight most innovative adult museum programs in the United States.

In addition, cooperative academic offerings such as museum studies classes and student internships continued with the university’s art history and arts and administration departments.

Davis, the vice provost, acknowledges that it may seem a little unusual to appoint a business professor as director of the Museum of Art.

"Del Hawkins, in fact, has ideal qualifications, combining his business and management professional expertise with a strong interest in the arts and the museum’s vitality," she explains. "He has the full confidence of the arts departments and the museum staff on campus and of museum supporters in the community and state, and he is enthusiastic about working with all of us to recruit an outstanding new director for the soon-to-be remodeled Museum of Art."

Hawkins, who is the Charles H. Lundquist Professor of Marketing, specializes in marketing strategy, business development, marketing research and consumer behavior. He has consulted widely with start-up and established firms and is the author of numerous case studies, journal articles and three widely used college textbooks.

A UO faculty member since 1970, Hawkins has been acting dean and associate dean of the Lundquist College of Business, marketing department chair and director of the Lundquist Center for Entrepreneurship, the UO Master of Business Administration Program and the Oregon Executive MBA Program. He holds bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from the University of Texas.

Robertson, an art history graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Missouri, specializes in Northern Renaissance art. He says his new post in Chicago represents a homecoming for him as well as new academic and professional opportunities.

"I’m returning home, where my family and other people important to me live," he says. "In addition, I will have the opportunity to work and publish in my field of research interest."

Robertson was director of the Martin D’Arcy Gallery, Loyola University-Chicago’s Museum of Medieval, Renaissance and Baroque Art, before becoming director of the UO Museum of Art. Previously, he was founding director of the Trout Art Gallery at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., and he worked at museums in London, New Haven, Conn., and Philadelphia. He was a Fulbright professor at the University of Munich in 1989-90.

Founded in 1921, the UO Museum of Art opened its doors in 1932. Accredited by the American Association of Museums, it is widely recognized for its outstanding collections, devoted to Asian art as well as to the art of contemporary Northwest artists, and its exciting schedule of changing exhibitions and educational programs.

The University of Oregon Museum of Art is a nonprofit state institution supported by the generosity of its members and by grants from the Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. Several endowments also provide operating funds.

Accessible to people with disabilities, the Museum of Art is open from noon to 8 p.m. Wednesday and from noon to 5 p.m. Thursday through Sunday. Suggested admission is $3, except on Wednesday evenings when the MusEvenings! program offers free extended viewing hours from
5 to 8 p.m. Museum members, students, UO employees and children are admitted free.

For information, browse http://uoma.uoregon.edu or call (541) 346-3027.

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