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For Immediate Release: December 21, 2006
OHIO HISTORICAL SOCIETY TAPS NEW YORKER TO LEAD MUSEUMS
Connie Cox Bodner has 30 years experience in history field; starts new job Feb. 5
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Ohio Historical Society today announced that Connie Cox Bodner, a museums professional with 30 years of experience in the history field, has been named Director of Museums for the Ohio Historical Society, effective Feb. 5, 2007. This leadership position within the Ohio Historical Society administers an annual budget of $6 million. Bodner will be responsible for all aspects of the Society’s exhibitions and educational/interpretive programs, offered directly at the Ohio Historical Center in Columbus and at historic sites statewide as well as via the web and other multi-media venues.
Bodner currently serves as Senior Director of Programs and Collections at Genesse Country Village and Museum in Mumford, N.Y., where she has been responsible for providing leadership and oversight management for all public programs, exhibitions, educational and school programs, collections management, conservation and library/archive services. In this position, she has managed an operating budget of $1.1 million for the 19th-century living history museum campus that includes a fine art gallery and a nature center.
Prior to her tenure at Genesse Country Village and Museum, Bodner was Director of Collections and Research at the Rochester Museum and Science Center in Rochester, N.Y. At the Museum and Science Center, which also includes a planetarium and nature center, she served as administrative head of curatorial, library/archive, registration, research, conservation, contract archaeology and scholarly publication programs.
Bodner holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from the University of Missouri-Columbia and an M.S. degree in Anthropology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
The Ohio Historical Society also announced that Julie Hughes, assistant director for public programs and Acting Director of Museums, has been promoted to Senior Department Manager and will be responsible for direct oversight of historic sites statewide. She will continue to serve as Acting Director of Museums until Bodner’s arrival at OHS.
“With these new appointments, two exceptional and able leaders will guide our work in making sure that Ohio’s past is engaging and relevant to today’s audiences,” said Rachel M. Tooker, deputy executive director and chief operating officer for the Ohio Historical Society. “We are excited about the future of our museums work as Connie Bodner and Julie Hughes lead our efforts in maximizing our potential in historic sites, exhibit and publication development, educational web and distance learning products, and public and school programs.”
The Ohio Historical Society is a nonprofit organization that serves as the state’s partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio’s history, archaeology and natural history. Its mission is to help people connect with Ohio’s past in order to understand the present and create a better future.
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