The Board of Trustees of the Delaware Art Museum announces the departure of Executive Director Dr. Danielle Rice. Dr. Rice led the Museum for the past eight years. Her departure will be effective September 1, 2013. Mike Miller, the Museum's current Chief Financial Officer, will take the helm as acting Chief Executive Officer while the Board undertakes a national search for a successor to Dr. Rice.

Under her leadership the Museum experienced a virtual rebirth. Shortly after her arrival, Dr. Rice successfully managed the opening of the newly renovated and expanded building, along with the related festivities in June 2005. She initiated a large number of community partnerships and re-established the Museum's image. She also led a strategic planning effort that resulted in a revised mission and tightly focused community-minded goals. In 2007 and 2008 she guided the Museum through the American Alliance of Museums' rigorous re-accreditation process.

During her tenure, the Museum hosted several successful major exhibitions and welcomed back the Bancroft Collection of Pre-Raphaelite Art from a world tour into newly designed galleries. In addition to enriching the Museum's collections through major acquisitions of art, including 50 works from the Vogel collection and numerous other gifts, Dr. Rice helped to initiate and launch several innovative uses of technology, including cell phone tours, dedicated websites for John Sloan and the Pre-Raphaelites, and the delightful interactive educational website Art of Storytelling. She led the Museum through its Centennial Celebration, including a wide array of partnerships throughout the state. She also initiated the Centennial Campaign for the Next Century Fund, which has raised over $6.5 million.

Gerret Copeland, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, noted on behalf of the Board, "Danielle has been a great asset to the Museum and to the community. She has made the Museum a place where everyone can feel welcome. We are deeply grateful for her leadership over the past eight years and we wish her all the best in her next adventure."

Beginning in September 2013, Dr. Rice will assume the position of Director of the Master of Science Program in Museum Leadership at Drexel University's Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design. This newly created Master of Science in Museum Leadership program is designed to prepare leaders who will enable museums to fulfill their missions of stewardship and education. The program combines cutting-edge theory, history and practice, and addresses the need for increased diversity in the museum workforce, management, collections, and programs.