She sounds like someone who was born for this job. Congratulations to her
and to the museum!

On Wed, Jan 30, 2013 at 8:52 PM, Mark Twain Forum List Administrator <
[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> The Mark Twain House & Museum Appoints Dr. Cindy Lovell as its New
> Executive
> Director
>
> HARTFORD, January 11, 2013 -- Gregory Boyko, President of the Board of
> Trustees of The Mark Twain House & Museum, announced today the appointment
> of Dr. Cindy Lovell as the museum's Executive Director. Lovell is currently
> Executive Director of the Mark Twain Boyhood Home & Museum in Hannibal,
> Missouri.
>
> Lovell was chosen after a six-month national search, with a Search
> Committee
> of the Board of Trustees considering nearly 50 applicants for the position.
> The museum was aided in its efforts by PBR Executive Search, a New
> York-based firm, and the position was advertised in museum publications
> nationwide.
>
>  "We are delighted to have been able to find someone with Dr. Lovell's
> unique combination of strengths," said Boyko. "She has a strong track
> record
> in fundraising, proven leadership, passion, energy -- and most important,
> she has a deep devotion to Mark Twain. We look forward to working with her
> to create a greater presence for The Mark Twain House & Museum by building
> on Mark Twain as an international icon through an increased focus on
> writing
> and literature."
>
> "To have served in Hannibal and now in Hartford at the two homes where Sam
> Clemens resided the longest is the highest honor I could know," Lovell
> said.
> "I'm excited and eager to continue the collaboration between the two homes
> in our shared vision of preserving Mark Twain's legacy."
>
> Lovell succeeds Jeffrey L. Nichols, who left the museum in July to take a
> position as President and CEO of Poplar Forest, a historic home owned by
> Thomas Jefferson in Lynchburg, Virginia.
>
> She will begin her new position on March 4. Interim Executive Director
> Patti
> Philippon, the museum's Beatrice Fox Auerbach Chief Curator, will continue
> to direct the museum until that date.
>
> "I want to thank Patti for her stalwart efforts in keeping the museum going
> over the past months, during an extremely busy period, and in continuing to
> maintain the quality of our exhibitions and preservation efforts," said
> Boyko.
>
> Dr. Cindy Lovell has served as Executive Director of the Mark Twain Boyhood
> Home & Museum since 2008. She is also a tenured associate professor of
> education at Quincy University in Quincy, Illinois.
>
> Lovell grew up on a farm in Pennsylvania where she first fell in love with
> Twain's writing at the age of ten. A non-traditional student, she began
> college at the age of 35.  She holds a B.A. in elementary education and an
> M.A. in education, both from Stetson University in Florida. She earned a
> Ph.D in education from The University of Iowa, with concentrations in
> gifted
> education and English as a new language.  She taught elementary school in
> Florida where she earned tenure, then taught at her alma mater, Stetson
> University, where she also earned tenure before moving to Hannibal.
>
> In Hannibal she has directed the Mark Twain Young Authors workshop, taught
> numerous writing workshops for adults, and co-directed the Mark Twain
> Teacher Workshops with museum Curator Henry Sweets.  She has also presented
> keynotes and educator workshops at various Big Read events around the
> country for communities reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
>
> A lover of children's literature, Lovell has authored two children's
> novels,
> Rachel Mason Hears the Sound and Not This Sunday.  She co-authored Down the
> Mississippi: A Modern-day Huck on America's River Road with CNN iReporter
> Neal Moore, and is a contributor to The Huffington Post.  Lovell has
> authored dozens of articles, textbook chapters, and essays.
>
> Lovell's best known project is Mark Twain: Words & Music, a double CD
> telling the story of Mark Twain's life in spoken word and song.  She
> conceived the idea as a tribute to Twain to acknowledge the 100th
> anniversary of his death in 2010.  The CD features Clint Eastwood as Twain,
> Jimmy Buffett as Huck Finn, and Garrison Keillor as the narrator and
> includes songs by Brad Paisley, Sheryl Crow, Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill,
> Ricky Skaggs and others.  It was released in 2011 as a benefit for the Mark
> Twain Boyhood Home & Museum.  Lovell wrote the narrative and served as
> co-executive producer with Carl Jackson, a Grammy award-winning musician.
>
> At Quincy University Lovell has taught ethics in education, children's
> literature, educational psychology, foundations of education, and two
> first-year experience courses -- one on Twain, and one, Prison Nation,
> which
> focuses on the prison crisis in America.  At Quincy she also serves as
> counselor for Kappa Delta Pi, the international honor society for
> educators.
>
> Lovell serves on various boards and committees and has been recognized for
> her work in the community.  She received the Hannibal NAACP Martin Luther
> King, Jr. Award in 2010. Under her leadership, the Museum received the
> Missouri Governor's 2010 Humanities Award for Exemplary Community
> Achievement and the Hannibal Area Chamber of Commerce 2011 Civic
> Contributor
> Award.  Lovell also received the Hannibal Area Chamber of Commerce 2012
> Community Betterment Award and the 2012 Missouri Governor's Ambassador
> Award.
>
> Lovell collaborated with her colleagues at The Mark Twain House & Museum
> and
> other Twain sites for the successful passage of the Mark Twain
> Commemorative
> Coin Act, which benefits four major Twain institutions and was signed into
> law by President Obama in December 2012.
>



-- 


Terry Ballard
Author and Leisure Studies Manager
http://www.terryballard.org
Author of the book "Google this" http://googlethisforlibraries.com

"My memory has a mind of its own."