In the fall of 2016, the University of Florida will welcome Dr. Briley Rasmussen as an assistant professor of museum studies. Rasmussen received her PhD in museum studies from the University of Leicester. However, her background as an academia does not stop there. She has a M.S. in Leadership in Musuem Education from Bank Street College of Education, and M.A. in Art History- Italian Renaissance from the Courtauld Institute of Art.
Before coming to UF, Rasmussen was a specialist for museum learning at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), and an Associate Director of Education for the Neuberger Museum of Art. She was a guest co-editor for the article "Professionalizing Practice: An Examination in Recent History in Museum Education," which can be found in the Journal of Museum Education. More of her publications can be read in ArtMuseumTeaching.com, where she was a contributing author.
Rasmussen’s thesis examines the pedagogical strategies of the Museum of Modern Art in New York from 1929 to 1969.However, a majority of her research centers around the interactions between communities and their artistic culture. Much of her work encompasses creating a state of inclusion for diverse communities within the arts. Her experiences working with varied populations at LACMA make her an asset to UF due to Florida’s growing minority population.
Maria Rogal, a professor and interim director at UF’s School of Art and Art History, announced Rasmussen’s hire.
“Her focus on how museums engage with the public and can be a very meaningful part of people’s lives, which is so important as we increasingly work to engage our communities,” Rogal said. “The breadth and depth of her academic and professional experiences are a great compliment to the UF community, and certainly an asset as we continue to build programs of excellence.”
