For immediate use
Katie Ziglar named Director of Ackland Art Museum
(Chapel Hill, N.C. – April 8, 2016) – The Ackland Art Museum at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill announced today that Katie Ziglar has been appointed as the director of the Museum. Ziglar is currently the Director of External Affairs at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., a position she has held since 2003.
“We are delighted that Katie Ziglar will join the Ackland Art Museum as the new director,” said Chancellor Carol L. Folt. “She brings significant experience from her work at the Smithsonian Institution, where she contributed to increasing visibility and financial stability. We look forward to her leadership and vision for the Ackland Art Museum.”
Ziglar will begin her new role on July 6 and brings nearly 30 years’ experience as a museum professional. While at the Freer|Sackler, Ziglar tripled annual fundraising efforts over a five-year period, and participated in the leadership of the $1.5 billion Smithsonian fundraising campaign. She has also contributed to the successful management of other major cultural organizations, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute and the National Gallery of Art.
“Katie Ziglar’s experience with the Smithsonian Institution, most recently at the Freer|Sackler Galleries, brings a great depth and knowledge of building community affinity groups in working with collections, especially their Asian collection,” said James Keith Brown, chair of the Ackland Art Museum’s National Advisory Board. “Her background is key for the Ackland, given our various constituents, and our focus on Asian and contemporary works of art.”
Ziglar received a bachelor of arts degree in history from the UNC-Chapel Hill, where she was a John Motley Morehead scholar. She earned a master of arts degree in Islamic art and architecture from American University in Cairo. She currently serves as a board member of UNC-Chapel Hill’s Morehead-Cain Scholarship Fund.
“I am honored to have been selected to serve as Director of the Ackland Art Museum, and I look forward to returning to UNC-Chapel Hill in this position,” Ziglar said. “The Ackland is a vibrant, inspiring resource for this important global public research university as well as the entire Triangle community, the state of North Carolina and our nation. I am eager to build on the incredible work of the Museum’s staff to further and deepen the Ackland’s role in scholarship and especially public engagement.”
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About the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the nation’s first public university, is a global higher education leader known for innovative teaching, research and public service. A member of the prestigious Association of American Universities, Carolina regularly ranks as the best value for academic quality in U.S. public higher education. Now in its third century, the University offers 77 bachelor’s, 113 master’s, 68 doctorate and seven professional degree programs through 14 schools and the College of Arts and Sciences. Every day, faculty – including two Nobel laureates – staff and students shape their teaching, research and public service to meet North Carolina’s most pressing needs in every region and all 100 counties. Carolina’s more than 308,000 alumni live in all 50 states and 150 countries. More than 167,000 live in North Carolina.
About the Ackland Art Museum
The Ackland Art Museum is located at 101 S. Columbia St., on the historic campus of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The Ackland’s holdings consist of more than 17,000 works of art, featuring significant collections of European masterworks, 20th-century and contemporary art, African art, North Carolina pottery, and folk art. In addition, the Ackland has North Carolina’s premier collections of Asian art and works on paper (drawings, prints, and photographs). In 2016-17, the Ackland-organized exhibition Fever Within: The Art of Ronald Lockett will travel to the American Folk Art Museum, New York, and the High Museum of Art, Atlanta.
Ackland Art Museum contact: Emily Bowles, (919) 843-3675, emily.bowles@unc.edu
Communications and Public Affairs contact: MC VanGraafeiland, (919) 962-7090, mc.vangraafeiland@unc.edu