Susan Longhenry, executive director of University of New Mexico’s Harwood Museum of Art, will become the new director and chief curator of Marquette’s Haggerty Museum of Art.

Longhenry announced her resignation on May 13, citing family as the main reason for her decision. The move will allow Longhenry and her husband and son to be closer to their family in Wisconsin. She will take the position from interim Haggerty director Lee Coppernoll on August 3.

“I am honored to have this opportunity to lead the Haggerty Museum and to build upon the remarkable interdisciplinary work that has been nationally recognized,” Longhenry said in a university news release. “I look forward to working closely with leadership to help meet the university’s goals, to being part of the community and to collaborate with faculty across Marquette.”

The position was vacated September 2014 after former Haggerty director Wally Mason moved to work at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

“We look forward to having Susan at the helm of the Haggerty,” Coppernoll said in an email. “The museum leadership skills she brings to the museum will enable us to strengthen all elements of our operations from exhibition and educational programming for the Marquette campus and Milwaukee community to fundraising and marketing.”

A search committee unanimously recommended Longhenry before Gary Meyer, vice provost for undergraduate programs and teaching, announced the decision, which Interim Provost Margaret Callahan and University President Michael Lovell made official.

“Susan is exactly the right person to take over Haggerty Museum leadership at this time,” Callahan said in a university news release. “She is an experienced museum director who brings with her a record of successful educational initiatives as well as vast accreditation experience.”

Longhenry has worked with the Harwood Museum since 2009, facilitating the attainment of works by widely recognized artists including Ken Price, Larry Bell and Ron Davis. She has a master’s degree in modern art history, theory and criticism from the Art Institute of Chicago, and a bachelor’s in comparative literature, with a focus in modern art history and literature, from Indiana University.

“I look forward to returning to Milwaukee and working closely with community, cultural and civic organizations, schools and colleges, the business community and city and state officials to ensure that the Haggerty Museum of Art becomes a more visible resource for the region,” Longhenry said in a university news release.

The Haggerty Museum of Art opened November 1984 and features eight to nine exhibitions annually. It has featured works from American self-taught artists to contemporary artists in Europe, Asia, Africa, Latin America and Wisconsin.