Contact: Kent Ahrens, 605-357-0940 (h) or 605-336-1167 (w)
ATTN: EDITORS, NEWS DIRECTORS: A color photo of Kent
Ahrens may be downloaded at:
http://www.cats.ohiou.edu/~univnews/pix/kent_ahrens.jpg
ATHENS, Ohio -- Kent Ahrens, an experienced museum administrator and art historian, will begin his new duties as director of the Kennedy Museum of American Art at Ohio University on April 14.
Ahrens (pronounced AIR-ens) has worked as director of the Civic Fine Arts Center in Sioux Falls, S.D., for the past year and was director of the Rockwell Museum in Corning, N.Y., from 1990 to late 1995.
He also was director of the Everhart Museum in Scranton, Pa., from 1982 to 1990, and has served on the art faculties at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., Randolph-Macon Woman's College in Lynchburg, Va., and Florida State University in Tallahassee.
Ahrens replaces Charles Shepard, who left the university last summer. The Kennedy Museum, located on the first floor of Lin Hall on The Ridges on the Athens campus, opened in October following a $5.4 million renovation. The facility, located at the site of the former central administration building of the Athens Mental Health Center, is expected to be officially dedicated next fall.
Ahrens earned a doctorate in American art history from the University of Delaware, a master's degree in art history from the University of Maryland, and a bachelor of arts degree from Dartmouth College. While working on his Ph.D., he spent two years at the National Gallery of Art on two separate fellowships.
Ohio University Vice President for University Relations Adrie Nab said Ahrens is an experienced fund-raiser who has worked on major museum renovation projects. Ahrens is involved in moving the Civic Fine Arts Center to a newly renovated, $30 million cultural center in downtown Sioux Falls. He also helped develop the Mair Museum of Art at Randolph-Macon in the mid-1970s, and the Everhart Museum in the early 1980s.
Kent Ahrens is an experienced museum director and a scholar, with a deep interest in rural America and a love for historic architecture, which is just the right mix for the work that needs to be done at the Kennedy Museum," said Nab.
Ahrens said he was impressed by the potential of The Ridges museum complex and the commitment of the university administration and community to the new facility.
I find that The Ridges complex has a tremendous amount of growth potential," said Ahrens. The museum is an incredibly beautiful space, which is what was especially appealing about the job.
And I also was caught by the enthusiasm of the institution and its commitment to growth. Everyone recognizes that to make this museum happen, funds have to come from the outside. But I sensed a real commitment from all the constituencies to make that happen administrators, friends of the museum, the community. I sensed an energy all over."
Ahrens serves on accreditation visiting committees of the American Association of Museums, and he is a former board of trustees member of the Williamstown (Mass.) Regional Art Conservation Laboratory, a consortium of about 40 East Coast museums and galleries.
Ohio University's first art museum is expected to eventually house the campus' contemporary print, photography and Southwest Native American collections, along with rotating exhibits of ceramics, paintings and sculpture. The museum currently is open from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and admission is free.