UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State art history alumnus Michael Tomor, recipient of the 2016 College of Arts and Architecture Alumni Award in Art History, will give a lecture, “Michael Tomor: Recovering Academic,” at 6 p.m. on Thursday, April 14, in 112 Borland Building.
Tomor received his bachelor of arts (1983), master of arts (1990), and doctorate (1993) in art history from Penn State. In a professional career spanning more than two decades, he has excelled in museum administration with a human conscience. He started in 1994 as the chief curator of the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art in southwestern Pennsylvania. He served as executive director from 2002 to 2006. During that time he also served a term as president of the board of the Arts and Architecture Alumni Society.
In 2006, Tomor left Pennsylvania to become director of the El Paso Museum of Art in Texas, where he created innovative community engagement projects for those suffering from dementia, Alzheimer’s, post-traumatic stress disorder, depression, and trauma to help them connect with the art museum’s programs and exhibitions. At El Paso, Tomor also launched a visiting masterpiece series with New York’s Guggenheim Museum of Art.
In April 2015, Tomor undertook a new challenge as the executive director of the Tampa Museum of Art in Florida, where he is using his successful management, strategic planning and fundraising skills to better integrate the museum into the cultural and community life of Greater Tampa.