Carolyn Muzzy Director

Association of Academic Museums & Galleries.; Waterville (ME); On-site; USD 280,000 - 320,000; Full time

Job summary

Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine seeks the Carolyn Muzzy Director to lead the museum into its next ambitious chapter. The director will advance scholarship, public engagement, and interdisciplinary collaboration across Colby’s campus and the wider arts community.

The role demands visionary leadership, strong relationship-building with students, faculty, donors, and peers, and a track record of building national profiles for teaching museums.

Job description

Home | Carolyn Muzzy Director – Colby College Museum of Art | Waterville, Maine

Carolyn Muzzy Director – Colby College Museum of Art | Waterville, Maine

Colby College, one of the nation’s premier liberal arts institutions, pairs the enduring strengths of a liberal arts education with an ambitious vision for the future. Known for its academic rigor, student-centered ethos, and culture of innovation, the College offers an environment where faculty, students, and staff collaborate across disciplines to advance knowledge, cultivate creativity, and address complex societal challenges. At the intersection of Colby’s academic mission and public life, the Colby College Museum of Art (the Museum) activates its exceptional collections and acclaimed exhibitions to transform teaching, research, and creative practice. The Museum is a national leader among academic art museums, combining the scholarly rigor of a teaching museum with the ambition, collection, scale, and influence of a major cultural institution.

Significant growth in recent years—including expanded facilities, major acquisitions, and the continued evolution of the Lunder Institute for American Art—has elevated the Museum’s profile and broadened its impact. Positioned as both a premier destination for American and contemporary art and a catalyst for interdisciplinary inquiry, the Museum plays a critical role in shaping the intellectual, artistic, and civic life of the College, region, and the field. The Museum seeks a dynamic, collaborative, and engaging leader to serve as the Carolyn Muzzy Director and lead the Museum into its next ambitious chapter.

The Director will be passionate about the role of art in American society. They will be an engaging and visionary leader adept at building relationships with a wide range of constituents, including students, faculty, administration, artists, residents, community members, members of the Colby College Board of Trustees and Museum Board of Governors, collectors, and donors. The Director will continue to build a distinctive national profile for the Museum and expand connections with major art museums around the U.S. and globally, as well as with other academic and peer institutions.

This role is a permanent, full-time position located in Waterville, Maine, with an expected starting base salary in the range of $280,000 to $320,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications for the position.

Colby is a private, coeducational liberal arts college that makes personnel decisions on the basis of the individual’s qualifications to contribute to Colby’s educational objectives and institutional needs. The principle of not discriminating on the basis of race, color, age, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, pregnancy, parental or marital status, national or ethnic origin, caste, political beliefs, or disability unrelated to job requirements is consistent with the mission of a liberal arts college and the law. Colby is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer and operates in accordance with federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination.