Dr. Schloder provides day-to-day artistic, administrative, and financial direction; works closely with and reports to the Board; is heavily involved in fund-raising and community relations; organizes and selects special exhibitions; conducts research and presents lectures. He received his B.S. from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, Diploma from the School of the Louvre, Master of Philosophy from Columbia University, and Ph.D in art history with honors from the Institute of Art and Archaeology of the University of Paris-Sorbonne.
Dr. Schloder is the MFA's fourth director in its thirty-six
year history. He began his career in the painting department of the Musee du
Louvre, specializing in sixteenth and seventeenth-century French art, and later
worked in the antiquities department. His first position in the United States
was at the Cleveland Museum of Art, where he worked for ten years, eventually
becoming the Assistant Director in charge of education and public programs.
His first director's position was at the Birmingham Museum of Art, where he
oversaw the construction of a new wing and sculpture garden and the total renovation
and reinstallation of the of the museum's original galleries. He then became
Director of the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, where he oversaw the reinstallation
of the galleries in the original 1931 building, and greatly expanded the Joslyn's
audience. During his thirty-year career, Dr. Schloder has published and lectured
widely and won numerous awards and fellowships.
Dr. Hardin helps select works for the collection, organizes exhibitions, writes articles and exhibition brochures, lectures, conducts research, and assists with training docents and other volunteers. She makes recommendations to the Director on works needing conservation treatment and possible objects to be de-accessioned. She completed her Ph.D. dissertation in the area of American art history at Princeton University, where she also received her M.A. and was an assistant in instruction. Dr. Hardin's specialization in American art balances Dr. Schloder's in European.
Dr. Hardin, who came to the Museum in 1995, earned her B.A. with highest distinction and honors in art history from the University of Kansas with a double major in French language and literature and Western art. She was honored with a Smithsonian Institution Pre-doctoral Fellowship at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. and served for two years as a research and curatorial assistant in the Department of American Art at the Nelson-Atkins Museum in Kansas City.
Faith Rockenstein comes to the MFA with extensive experience as a museum educator and as an art teacher in the Saint Louis Public Schools. She is also an artist herself.
For the last 10 years, she coordinated a host of family programs, as well as classes for children and adults of all ages, at the Saint Louis Art Museum. She developed and implemented approximately 100 specialized art curricula for students from kindergarten through high school and was the instructor of more than 15, 000 participants in museum programs and classes annually.
Ms. Rockenstein’s classroom experience in the public schools will also greatly benefit the Museum and the community. She was an art teacher in a Saint Louis elementary school where she developed and taught classes for more than 600 students each year. She also organized and co-developed three to 10 annual school programs with the Missouri Botanical Garden and Laumeier Sculpture Park, as well as the Saint Louis Art Museum. During her 13 years as an art teacher, she also coordinated many student art exhibitions and even theatrical programs.
As an artist, she has had a solo show at the Botanical Gallery in Clayton, Missouri, and has been included in group exhibitions held by the Saint Louis Artist Guild and Maryville University. She has created residential and commercial murals and installations in Los Angeles, Santa Fe, and Saint Louis. Ms. Rockenstein holds her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Maryville and her Master of Art Education from Washington University, both in Saint Louis. She also holds a life certificate in art teaching (grades K-12).
Mr. Gessler, who has been with the Museum since 1975, assists the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions with the installation of exhibitions and the Registrar with the packing and transporting of artworks. He also photographs works from the collection and special exhibitions for the Museum's records and publications, and assumes the responsibilities of the Building Superintendent in his absence. Mr. Gessler holds his B.A. in art and photography from Eckerd College and began working at the Museum as an intern. From 1975-1985 he was the Building Superintendent and was promoted to his current position in 1985. Over the years, Mr. Gessler has assisted many other arts organizations, both as a volunteer and as a Museum representative. He currently serves on the Arts Advisory Committee of the City of St. Petersburg and on the Slide Review Committee of the St. Petersburg Center for the Arts.
Ms. Reeves came to the MFA from the Smithsonian American Art
Museum in Washington, D.C., where she served as Exhibitions Coordinator. At
the museum, she helped coordinate twelve to fifteen major exhibitions. She also
conducted extensive reasearch for the curatorial staff, wrote annotated wall
labels, edited catalogues, and was involved in exhibition planning meetings
with senior staff. She earned her M.A. in art history at Florida State University
where she also worked for six years as the Assistant Slide Curator in the art
history department. She has also served as the Slide Curator/Assistant Art Gallery
Director in the art and art history department at Wright State Univeristy in
Dayton, Ohio. She earned her B.A. in art history summa cum laude from
that school. At the MFA, Ms. Reeves is responsible for the maintenance, safety,
storage, and security of the permanent collection, as well as any works of art
coming into the museum for loan, exhibition, or possible gift. She works closely
with the Curator of Collections and Exhibitions doing research and writing extended
labels for special exhibtions and the permanent collection.
Mr. Bremer joined the Museum in March 1997 and is responsible with the Director and the Board of Trustees for preparing and overseeing the budget. He presents a monthly financial statement to the Director and the Board, which allows for regular monitoring of expenses against the year's projected budget. Mr. Bremer also handles payroll, the payment of bills, contacts with insurance companies, and such personnel matters as recording vacation and sick time. Previous to joining the Museum, he served as a trust administrator for the St. Petersburg office of a Southeast regional CPA firm and as a controller with several law firms in St. Petersburg and Clearwater. He was also the assistant finance director and treasurer of Cook County Hospital in Chicago and holds his B.S. degree from Michigan State University.
David Connelly, Public Relations Director
Mr. Connelly came to the
Museum in 1996 after completing his M.A. in Latin American studies at the
University of Texas at Austin. While a graduate student, he worked part-time
as the staff writer for the university's Archer M. Huntington Art Gallery,
received a grant from the Tinker Foundation to conduct field research in
Costa Rica, and was invited to join Phi Kappa Phi honor society. He has
also served as the assistant grants director of the Museum of Fine Arts,
Houston and as the arts/entertainment editor for the Shreveport
Journal in Louisiana where he was also extremely active in the community.
He served on the organizing committee and as the secretary of the Northwest
Louisiana AIDS Task Force, chaired by the Dean of the Louisiana State University
Medical Center in Shreveport, and helped plan and raise funds for an inner-city
soup kitchen directed by a Roman Catholic nun. He also wrote about the state's
artists for Art Papers, the New Orleans Art Review, and Louisiana
Life. He has been selected repeatedly for Who's Who in America and
Who's Who in the South and Southwest and in 1989, was named to Outstanding
Young Men of America. Mr. Connelly holds another M.A. from Bowling Green
State University in Ohio and his B.A. summa cum laude, honors in English,
from Mount Union College, also in that state. At the Museum, he is responsible
for press releases and packets, media contacts, working with selected tour
groups, and paid advertising. He writes for and edits the Mosaic.
Mrs. Weiss has assisted a number of organizations as a librarian,
researcher, and archivist. She began volunteering at the Museum in October 1998,
organizing the books and helping staff with research. She is currently a part-time
staff member, generally working in and around the Museum Library on Tuesdays,
Wednesdays, and Thursdays. Mrs. Weiss manages all aspects of the Library's operations,
including the ordering, processing, cataloging, and maintenance of books and
other reference materials. She also provides research assistance to Museum staff
and members of the public. She has previously done archival and library work
at the St. Petersburg Museum of History, the Nelson Poynter Memorial Library
at the University of South Florida- St. Petersburg, the Henry Morrison Flagler
Museum in Palm Beach, and the Palm Beach Post in West Palm Beach. Mrs.
Weiss holds her B. A. cum laude in statistics from Harvard University
and her M. A. in library and information science from the University of South
Florida where she was selected for Phi Kappa Phi and Beta Phi Mu honor societies.Jordana S. Weiss, Librarian