The Mulvane Art Museum recently welcomed a new director, Cindi Morrison, who came to Washburn in late May.

Previously Morrison served as the executive director at Lancaster Museum of Art in Pennsylvania for more than 10 years, and she was a gallery director at the Pennsylvania State School of Visual Arts for eight years.

Morrison holds an advanced degree in ceramics, and throughout the past 25 years her artwork has been displayed at many museums and galleries. She said her personal experiences as an artist have helped her relate to art students, as well as her fellow colleagues.

“I think it helps me work with artists and to try to accommodate them as best I can, and to do the best promotion that I can to help them market themselves,” she said.

Morrison added that she looks forward to furthering her own artistic endeavors during her time at Washburn.

“I hope I’ll have some time to work on my artwork when I have some free moments,” she said.

Before Morrison came to Washburn, art history professor Reinhild Janzen served as the Mulvane’s interim director for nearly two years. Under Janzen, the Mulvane hosted regular meetings called “Conversations: Connecting Art to Our Lives,” during which artists and art lovers met at the Mulvane to discuss its current exhibits. Morrison said the “Conversations” meetings will continue under her watch.

“We’re re-evaluating some of the programs, but for those that have been very successful, like ‘Conversations,’ I would say that we wouldn’t want to implement any changes along those lines,” she said. “We’re going to be looking at some of the exhibitions that we do, keeping the ones with the art department faculty and the Washburn art students because it’s very important for us to support young, and up-and-coming artists.”

Morrison said she will also be looking at different ways to increase the number of visitors to the Mulvane.