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After 15 years at the helm of The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, Steven High has decided to retire. Executive director of The Ringling since 2011, High will remain in his position until a successor is identified. Florida State University and The Ringling Foundation have turned to Isaacson, Miller, a nationally recognized executive search firm, to assist with the proceedings. Meg Hausberg, Chair, and Michael Bush, incoming chair of the Ringling Museum of Art Foundation Board, will lead the search committee for High’s successor.

Whomever the successor is, they will have large shoes to fill. In a career spanning five decades, High held positions in academic and leadership roles, including director/CEO of the Nevada Museum of Art and director of the Telfair Museum of Art in Savannah, Georgia, before joining The Ringling. As Executive director at The Ringling, High’s tenure is one marked by substantive growth that further cemented The Ringling as a nationally recognized institution. Under High’s leadership, The Ringling’s annual operating budget increased from $12 million to $28 million and grew its endowment from $27 million to $67 million.

Critical pieces of The Ringling’s 66 acre bayfront campus and nearly 500,000 square feet of facilities came to be under High’s leadership. High oversaw the opening of Joseph’s Coat: A Skyspace by James Turrell in the Ulla R. and Arthur F. Searing Wing in 2011; The Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Center for Asian Art, in 2016, which presents over 3000 years of history and culture from across the Asian continent; the Keith D. Monda Gallery for Contemporary Art in 2016, The Ringling’s first gallery space permanently devoted to modern and contemporary art and the Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion, which opened in 2018. During High’s tenure, The Ringling has not only enhanced exhibition programming and educational initiatives, but has also more than doubled its collections.

“On behalf of everyone at The Ringling, I want to express my deepest gratitude—above all for the belief you placed in this institution and in its mission,” said High in a statement. “It has been the greatest privilege of my career to steward a museum that inspires such dedication from its donors and members, and I leave knowing that your partnership will continue to carry The Ringling forward long after this transition.”

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, 5401 Bay Shore Rd, Sarasota.

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