Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Welcomes New Director and Ambitious Plans for the Future
The Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum is appointing Elizabeth C. Babcock, currently serving as the president and chief executive of Forever Balboa Park in San Diego, as its new director.
Despite Congress approving its plans for 2020, the museum is still in its formative stages, lacking a site and a permanent collection. Babcock, an anthropologist and experienced administrator, will lead the institution, which is expected to open in about a decade.
Elizabeth C. Babcock has been named director of the Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum, effective June 3.
— Smithsonian American Women's History Museum (@SIAmericanWomen) March 12, 2024
Read more: https://t.co/iADR1HO29C pic.twitter.com/Hq4Rd13EK4
The original choice for the museum’s director, Nancy Yao, resigned following an investigation into her management of sexual harassment claims during her tenure at the Museum of Chinese in America in Manhattan. The Washington Post revealed that Yao’s former workplace had settled three wrongful termination lawsuits from employees who claimed they were fired in retaliation for reporting sexual misconduct. In 2023, Yao withdrew her appointment, citing “family issues that require her attention.” In its renewed search for a director, the Smithsonian employed a different search firm this time.
Babcock outlined her priorities to The New York Times, which include expanding into digital media and supporting scholarly research. She expressed a commitment to ensuring diverse representation and stated that the museum would not shy away from discussing controversial topics, although she did not specify whether the work of transgender women would be included. Babcock is set to assume her new role in June.
"Becoming Visible," our first digital exhibition, reveals the uneven process of women becoming visible in American history.
— Smithsonian American Women's History Museum (@SIAmericanWomen) March 8, 2024
Experience the exhibition, narrated by our advisory council member @RosarioDawson: https://t.co/naJHVZPwlR #SmithsonianWHM #InternationalWomensDay pic.twitter.com/oJ303BqBPS
Furthermore, Babcock has been the chief executive of Forever Balboa Park since 2022. Prior to this role, she was the Dean of Education at the California Academy of Sciences in San Francisco and the Vice President of Education and library collections at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago.
The museum, which has been under Melanie A. Adams’s interim leadership since last summer, has a staff of 22 people. Six more members will join this year. The institution has an annual operating budget of $7 million.
Fundraising will be crucial to Babcock’s agenda as the new director. The institution aims to raise half its budget, expecting to exceed the $540 million cost of opening the National Museum of African American History and Culture in 2016. The federal government will contribute the other half. Currently, the museum has gathered $65.5 million from donors.
Babcock emphasized her intention to garner support from both women and men, highlighting the museum’s inclusive mission to represent everyone. She sees the museum’s power in its ability to be a unifying force for all.
You can find more information on The Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum website here.
