Certainly the right person for the job! --susan harris

Sent from my iPad

On Jan 31, 2013, at 1:21 PM, "Terry Ballard" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

> 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."
>