Laura J. Mueller, Ph.D. appointed Executive Director of the Columbia Museum of Art, Columbia, SC

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Laura J. Mueller, Ph.D. as the new Executive Director of the Columbia Museum of Art in Columbia, SC. Mueller recently served as the Interim Executive Director of the New Mexico Museum of Art and Vladem Contemporary in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She officially takes the helm as Executive Director on August 3, 2026. Senior Search Consultant Ken Turino led the national search.

Mueller is a museum executive, curator, and art historian with more than twenty years of leadership experience in art museums and cultural institutions. She has overseen multimillion-dollar budgets, led major fundraising initiatives and capital projects, curated nationally recognized exhibitions, and cultivated strategic partnerships that expand community engagement. An internationally recognized scholar of Japanese art, she has published extensively and lived and conducted research in Japan. Mueller holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Economics from Gustavus Adolphus College, a Master of Arts in Arts Administration and a Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University, and a Ph.D. in the History of Art from the University of Wisconsin. 

“The CMA Board of Trustees is delighted to welcome Dr. Mueller to the Museum,” says Therese Griffin, Board President.” In addition to her well-rounded museum management and curatorial experiences, the Board was drawn to her strong world view, cultural leadership, and work around strengthening museums through strategic positioning and capacity building.”  

“We celebrated the CMA’s 75th anniversary in 2025 and the reinstallation of its impressive art collection this year, so Dr. Mueller will assume leadership at a pivotal moment in the Museum’s history,” says Griffin. “We look forward to embracing her vision as she guides the CMA to the next level of strategic growth and sustainability.” 

“I believe museums have the power to inspire curiosity, foster empathy, and bring people together through shared experiences,” says Mueller. “I am excited to work alongside the Board, staff, members, donors, artists, and our community to ensure the Museum continues to be a welcoming, dynamic, and inspiring cultural resource.”

Lacy Schutz appointed Interim Executive Director

We are pleased to announce the appointment of Lacy Schutz as the Interim Executive Director at the Contemporary Arts Center (CAC) Cincinnati. Senior Search Consultant Dan Yaeger led the national search. Schutz will begin her new role on May 18.

Schutz brings nearly twenty years of cultural-institution leadership to the role, with a track record of advancing artistic ambition alongside organizational and financial strength. Most recently, she served as Managing Director of ATHR Gallery in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, one of the leading contemporary art galleries in the Gulf region. Prior to that, she served as Executive Director of the Shaker Museum in New York, where she stabilized operations, rebuilt donors and community trust, and launched a transformative capital campaign. She has also held senior leadership roles at the Museum of the City of New York.

“We are genuinely thrilled to welcome Lacy to CAC,” said Emily Kokenge and Rick Michelman, co-presidents of CAC’s Board of Trustees. “She understands what makes CAC singular, and she has the experience to protect that while building the foundation this institution needs to take its next leap. We couldn’t be more excited about what’s ahead.”

Schutz has a deep commitment to the civic role of contemporary art institutions and to CAC’s history of courageous programming. “CAC has been making bold choices since 1939,” Schutz said. “It has shown work that wasn’t safe, stood its ground when that mattered, and earned a particular kind of trust that very few institutions can claim. I am coming to Cincinnati to help build on that, to strengthen the foundation that makes the risk-taking possible, and to make sure this place continues to be what it has always been: somewhere the future gets rehearsed.”