Connie Wolf, director of Stanford University’s Iris & B. Gerald Cantor Center for Visual Arts at Stanford since 2012, has resigned from her position.
According to a message Matthew Tiews, Stanford’s associate dean for the Advancement of the Arts, sent to Cantor members and friends, Wolf is on sabbatical this summer and has elected not to return in the fall.
Wolf, who led San Francisco’s Contemporary Jewish Museum before taking the position with Cantor and is herself a Stanford alumna, can count many achievements from her tenure with Stanford, including a nearly 60 percent boost in attendance, an enriched permanent collection (with acquisitions from such artists as Edward Hopper, Jacob Lawrence and Andy Warhol), an increase in museum visiting hours (from five days a week to six) and tours and activities for families, Tiews said in the message, which was shared with the Weekly by Stanford Office of Public Affairs.
She also secured two grants from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to support Stanford art-history students and oversaw construction of a new classroom, according to the message.
The museum and its exhibits will carry on as usual while the search for a new director commences, Tiews wrote.
Wolf, “departs leaving the museum a vibrant and thriving resource for the community with a senior management team at the Cantor who will manage daily operations until a new director is on board,” he wrote. “All exhibitions, programs, and projects will continue to move forward.”
I love the Cantor Arts Center and especially enjoyed viewing the Hopper – one of my favorite artists. I wish Connie Wolf a very happy future.
A great way to spend the day is a walk past Stanford’s tomb, then through the neighboring cactus garden, and finally a visit to the Cantor Arts Center and Rodin sculpture garden. Best of all, it’s all free.
Would be curious to know how the museum staff feel about Ms. Wolf’s departure.
Had heard that the staff of the CJM was not unhappy to see her move on.
Might be worth a little research by your reporters.