The University Museum of Art will soon lose one of its most prized possessions - its director. William Hennessey, director of the museum announced he is leaving to become director of the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Va.
Hennessey, who served as museum director for 7 1/2 years is scheduled to begin at his new post in May. He said he will be splitting his time between Norfolk and Ann Arbor by mid-March.
"It's been a real privilege for me to work with the students, faculty and the community," Hennessey said. "It's been a wonderful time."
Hennessey said he has contributed all he can to the museum and the offer in Virginia was too good to refuse.
An interim director will fill the vacant spot until a search committee, under the leadership of Music School Dean Paul Boylan, selects a permanent successor.
James Manheim, publications coordinator for the museum, said Hennessey was effective in balancing the museum's dual role as a University resource and a public institution.
"One of the issues of the University museum is how do you tread the line between University and community?" Manheim said. "He's made it a place where people from Ann Arbor like to visit while having a lot of involvement with students."
Hennessey said one of his goals for the museum was to make it a resource for teaching on campus while also making it "lively and acceptable to everyone."
About 95,000 people pass through the three-floor museum each year, Hennessey said. This year, the museum celebrated its 50th anniversary.
The museum sponsored a number of exhibits under Hennessey's leadership, including an exhibit on Chinese warriors from Xian and a collection of old master drawings.
Hennessey was also responsible for the growth of the museum's Asian collection and its assortment of contemporary prints.