NEW YORK (AP) — The American Museum of Natural History on Tuesday said it had chosen college president Sean Decatur to become its next president, making him the first Black leader of the institution.
Decatur, currently the president of Kenyon College in Ohio, will succeed Ellen Futter in April of next year, the museum said.
Futter, who was the first woman to be the museum’s president, will be stepping down in March after 30 years in the role.
Decatur is an Ohio native with a biophysical chemistry doctorate from Stanford University. He has taught at institutions including Mount Holyoke College and Oberlin College.
The museum, known for iconic items such as the life-size model of a blue whale and a 63-foot-long (19-meter) canoe, is scheduled to open its new Richard Gilder Center for Science, Education and Innovation early next year.
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