COURTESY PHILBROOK MUSEUM OF ART
The High Museum of Art has announced that Randall Suffolk will succeed Michael E. Shapiro as Nancy and Holcombe T. Green Jr. Director, effective November 2 this year. Shapiro had served as the institution’s director for 15 years.
Suffolk, who currently acts as the director and president of the Philbrook Museum of Art in Tulsa, has worked in the museum field for 20 years and has served as director for 15. At Philbrook, Suffolk developed a comprehensive plan to integrate the museum with the surrounding community, which has yielded dramatic growth in areas of attendance, participation in educational programs, and membership. This community engagement model earned Suffolk recognition in a national study by independent researchers Anne Bergeron and Beth Tuttle in collaboration with the American Alliance of Museums.
Additionally, Suffolk’s tenure at Philbrook was characterized by his efforts at forging partnerships at regional, national, and international levels, and leading the planning of the museum’s satellite space, Philbrook Downtown, which opened in Tulsa in 2013.