Starting January 2001, Derrick Cartwright will assume his new role as director of Dartmouth's Hood Museum.
Art historian Cartwright comes to Dartmouth from the Muse d'Art Amricain in Giverny, France, where he is currently the director.
According to Hood Public Relations Coordinator Sharon Reed, Cartwright is personable, very approachable, down to earth and intelligent.
"He has a very comfortable presence," she said.
Reed said she expects Cartwright to be active on campus.
"I think he'll definitely want to be involved with the student body," she said. "He is committed to outreach -- both to campus and to the general community."
Reed said Cartwright does not have plans at this point for making changes to the museum, explaining that the specifics of his vision will be ironed out in the coming months when he comes to campus and meets with the current Hood staff.
Cartwright is not a newcomer to the realm of educational institutions. Before going to Giverny, he was Director of Founders Gallery at the University of San Diego.
Cartwright also has experience in teaching. While he was at the University of San Diego, he was a professor in the Fine Arts Department.
He has also taught a variety of courses in art history at the University of San Diego, the University of California at Berkeley, The University of Michigan and The University of California at San Diego.
This fall, he is teaching a course at Columbia University's Paris Program at Reid Hall.
According to Reed, Cartwright is particularly interested in photography, architecture and American Painting.
Cartwright succeeds Timothy Rub, who joined the Cincinnati Art Museum in December 1999 after working in the Hood Museum for 12 years. Reed called Rub's move a career change.
Margaret Dyer Chamberlain, Associate Provost of Dartmouth, has served as Acting Director of the Hood Museum of Art since Rub's departure.
