AT THE ALLEN / FALL 2025 / 3 TANYA ROSEN-JONES FROM THE DIRECTOR In 2009, Director StephanieWiles—knowing that the Allen would be closing for renovations—proposed a partnership with the Cleveland Museum of Art. Outstanding works fromOberlin’s European holdings would be guests in Cleveland for a year. CMA Director Timothy Rub enthusiastically agreed, and the relevant curators at both museums—Andria Derstine and I (both future directors of the Allen!)—set to work. This collaboration was a revelation. It was a joy to work with Andria, owing to her sophistication, intelligence, and advocacy for the Allen. We developed a course for the college around the collaboration, my introduction to Oberlin students. They wrote insightful labels about the Allen’s paintings for their temporary home, and we developed audio guides for more discursive interpretation, crafted by the students. I knew they would be perceptive, talented, and incredibly smart, but their love of learning, creativity, and excitement for sharing ideas with a broad public stuck with me even more. From that point forward, Oberlin has remainedmy ideal college museum for its deep and wide student engagement. The first part of my career was curatorial work at large civic art museums, where I loved the challenges of connecting scholarly research to the preoccupations of broad and diverse audiences. I then cut my teeth as Director at Krannert Art Museum at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where I discovered howmuch university museums are liberating places to work and to lead! I often get asked what energizes me about academic museums. As a curator-at-heart, I love how you never have to make an excuse for research. Generating new knowledge is coin of the realm in higher education— serious research is respected and rewarded—which the Allen’s team executes at the highest level. As colleges and universities make the long-overdue turn toward true rapport with their communities, it’s a point of pride to lead this work on campus. Museums provide excellent models for faculty and students interested in engaged research and connecting with a broad public, since museums already excel at and understand the challenges in forging meaningful connections with all audiences. I’m very eager to lean into the city of Oberlin, Lorain County, and Northeast Ohio as even deeper partners in our work. And, the best academic museums (the Allen is case study #1) know how to deploy their spaces, collections, and programs for teaching, both by doing the work ourselves as well as knowing when to get out of the way of faculty, staff, and students, allowingmultiple interpretations and cultural frames to thrive, collide, and challenge us all. I’ve long been in awe of the Allen’s sector-leading work in this arena, and it’s even more thrilling to see the work up close and in action! I look forward to meeting you all, and please stop by to say hello. I am eager to hear about your experiences at the Allen and your hopes and dreams for this museum. As you will read in the following pages, the fall program is stellar and set up for our students, faculty, and community members to contemplate, learn, and enjoy. Jon L. Seydl John G. W. Cowles Director
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