By Patrick Donges
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wamc/local-wamc-984939.mp3
Pittsfield, MA – Van W. Shields, who has served as director and CEO of the Culture and Heritage Museums in Rock Hill, South Carolina since 1997, will begin his new position as executive director of the Berkshire Museum beginning September 12.
Members of the museum's board of trustees wrapped up their search for a new executive after interviewing several candidates over the phone and a select group in person; Mary Huth is president of the Berkshire Museum board of trustees.
"We had 50 applicants, and we narrowed that down to eight, three of which we brought in for an interview. Van really stood out."
Shields will bring an already expansive career in museum management to the museum; before his time in South Carolina he held several positions at New York City's Museum of Moving Images from 1990 to 1997. That experience is what propelled him to the top of the list; here's Huth.
"We were really looking for somebody who had a strategic acumen and who had experience running museums in the past, and his experience in the museum world really made him the perfect fit for us."
Shields said he and his wife Peggy Rivers, an artist, were attracted to the culture of the Berkshires, noting that while he had never visited the county before his interview with the museum, it's "impossible" not to have heard of the region's cultural offerings having previously worked in Manhattan; here' s Shields.
"We were also looking for a place with a high quality of life that we could spend some time in, and the Berkshire Museum was really the perfect fit. Their interdisciplinary collections would be the envy of any museum."
During his nearly 15 years in South Carolina, Shields led a merger of several institutions into one overarching organization to manage the four museums currently open in that area.
Of his accomplishments there, he said he was most proud of assembling a team of professionals at the museums and his fundraising, which he said the Berkshire Museum already has much of in place. His focus in the new position will be on implementing the museum's recently passed strategic plan; here's Shields.
"I'm looking forward to working with the new strategic vision and the team to continue the excellence the Berkshire Museum has displayed over the years in education, exhibition, entertainment, and really also engagement."
"I'm a very big believer in the fact that museums and cultural institutions are resources that need to be used wisely to meet community needs. Figuring out how to best serve the community whether it's people from right next door, or New York City, or Boston, or from Germany for that matter is a very interesting thing for me to consider."
Shields will be replacing Stuart Chase, who left the museum in March to become executive director of strategic promotion and business partnership 1Berkshire. Huth said having Chase as the head of that group is an asset to the museum as they consider their own partnerships with other county cultural institutions.
"He knows out institution well, he knows where we fit in the county, and I do think that Van is very open-minded about those kinds of things and will be looking into that."
With both the museum and its new director calling each other a "perfect fit," Shields said he is looking forward to beginning the next chapter of his career in Pittsfield.
"The Berkshire Museum has done so much for the community over the years that I only hope I can make a contribution to sort of taking it to the next level."