Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry (MOSI) has named Jean M Franczyk as its new director.
Ms Franczyk, 50, will take over from Tony Hill - who earlier this month announced he was to stand down as director - in February.
Her appointment comes just weeks after MOSI, on Liverpool Road, merged with the National Museum of Science & Industry (NMSI) group, which runs the world-famous Science Museum in London.
It means that American Ms Franczyk - who is currently director of learning at NMSI - will lead a museum group that attracts over five million visitors every year. The group's other attractions include the National Gallery, British Museum, Natural History Museum and the Tate art gallery.
Highlights of the new director's career so far have included working as education adviser to the former mayor of Chicago, Richard M North, vice president of education at Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry, and as chief of staff at the city's Board of Education.
In a statement released by the museum, Ms Franczyk described MOSI as 'a great museum in a great city'.
She added: "The stories we can share are powerful and internationally significant. There’s no better place to tell the story of how science and industry created the first truly modern city or how the science and industry of Manchester continues to influence the world today.
"I relish the opportunity of working with the team at MOSI and together ensuring that the Museum evolves as creatively and with as much innovation as Manchester itself."
Ian Blatchford, Director of NMSI said: "Jean is a highly respected colleague, both within NMSI and the wider museum community, and I am confident that she will bring her huge energy, insight and skill to this new role. Jean has a wealth of experience and I am sure the museum will flourish under her leadership."
The museum said that Ms Franczyk will take up her new role on two-year secondment, working part of the week in Manchester and part of the week at the group's other attractions.
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Pathetic! The Manchester's Museum of Science and Industry becomes another indiginous group run by an outsider. It's MANCHESTER's industrial history/heritage that should be the paramount consideration in selecting the museum's director.
Another instance where we have succumbed to the "Blanche Du Bois" syndrome - "existng on the kindness of strangers.".
Weird, inflammatory choice of title. Would the piece have been titled 'Arab to become director...' if the new boss was from the Middle East?
Just another example of the British hierarchy standing up for it's own.
I don't think. If I was 40 years younger I'd emigrate to a place that had less foreigners in it. Work that one out if you can.
Could I please take his place in America then? Swapsies, like an exchange type affair.
this is an excellent museum where you can spend hours, butI looked up when factories in East Manchester closed down[Bradford colliery was 1968 subsidence,although some seams were 1500 feet down]
I found a list of 100s many now long forgotten. I think the museum should have a record of all of them. There are exhibits like the Garrat engines built at Beyer but many have just gone.
When I started work in a dyer and bleachers in 1951 I was told Walkden and Makin was one of the best.I can't find any details of it existing exceppt as a name on a list.and there are many more.
Does it really matter where she is from?
I would be more concerned if the arguement was that she was not qualified or not capable to oversee the running of this world class facility.
As it appears that neither of these are a concern I say good luck to her!
Because Nationality still has a bearing on the ability to do the job, does it M.E.N.?
Seriously?
How's this work again? Write an inflammatory and misleading headline and hope it gets picked up elsewhere?
Going the way of the Liverpool Post at this rate.
Welcome aboard ma'am! Yes indeedy!
What's the problem? Manchester wants to open itself up to tourists and perhaps one way to improve tourist experience is to allow somebody with -- all due respect -- a fresh pair of "tourist eyes" plus a bag of experience. Good luck, Jean!
She sounds like the right woman for the job to me.Good for Jean.
So we have a foreign director (nothing too bad about that),
with a background in American 'education' (is that an oxymoron?),
who will be doing the job part time.
Her real job is running some galleries and museums in London.
Definitely looks like someone who will give a 100% to MOSI (or have they renamed it yet?)
What a great example of merited success and an exciting prospect for Manchester, as the Museum of Science and Industry enters into a new era of partnership which will bring wider recognition for Manchester as a globally important (note the emphasis on global rather than provincial) city of great industrial, cultural, sporting and scientific heritage.