Marianne Eileen Wardle

Director/Curator, College of Wooster Art Museum

Ph.D., 2010 – Art, Art History & Visual Studies

Director/Curator, College of Wooster Art Museum

PhD, Art, Art History & Visual Studies, Duke University, 2010
MA, Brigham Young University, Art History, 1997
BA, French and Art History, Utah State University, 1992

 

A Boise, Idaho native, Marianne Eileen Wardle earned her PhD at Duke University, specializing in Greek and Roman art and architecture, medieval sculpture, gender studies, and post-modern architectural theory. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the Harvard Extension School, a Masters in Art History from Brigham Young University, and a BA in French and Art History from Utah State University.

While pursuing her doctorate at Duke, Wardle served as a teaching assistant in art history, classical studies, and gender studies, as an assistant for Professor Gennifer Weisenfeld, and as the editorial assistant for The Art Bulletin for three years, under the editorship of Professor Richard J. Powell. She also worked in temporary administrative jobs in various departments throughout the university including in HR and the provost’s office, and for two years as a graduate assistant in the University President’s office. Additionally, for two years she worked as an independent contractor and program evaluator for the Veterans Affairs Employee Education Division stationed in Durham where she monitored a nationwide program placing early career interns with experienced mentors in hard-to-recruit positions throughout the VA. There she interviewed participants, wrote project reports, and presented findings and best practices at trainings and before the program review board tasked with determining funding.

She began her career in art museums in 2006 working as a visitor services manager at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke for a year, before moving into work as a special events graduate assistant for four years while she finished her dissertation. In January 2011 she was appointed the Curator of Academic Engagement at the Nasher Museum, and later as Head of Education and Interpretation. In those roles she mentored over 80 undergraduate interns, created a Concentration in Museum Studies through AAHVS, and taught courses in Islamic art and museum studies for AAHVS. Interested in the integration of the art museum across disciplines, she has worked closely with faculty and students to use the museum as a resource for learning and research. Most notably she led a grant-funded 3-year interdisciplinary research collaboration titled "Art, Vision, and the Brain," which brought together a team of neuroscientists, ophthalmologists, and engineers comprised of faculty and students at all levels working together to explore human perception. At the Nasher she curated exhibitions of Old Master Paintings, Medieval sculpture, Greek and Roman art and culture, modern prints, and contemporary art exploring topics such as race, gender, and migration.

She served as the director of the University of Wyoming Art Museum from 2018-2020, and assumed her current position of director/curator at the College of Wooster Art Museum in early 2021.

Wardle