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." >