University Art Museum director Christopher Scoates left Cal State Long Beach to lead as the first alumnus director at Cranbrook Academy of Art and Museum — one of the most prestigious visual arts graduate schools in the nation.
Scoates, who declined to comment, served his last day at the UAM Tuesday and will begin as Cranbrook’s new director on August 1 in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
“He came to my office, and I have to say, I think he thought I was gonna kill him,” said Christopher Miles, the dean of the art department, who described the day Scoates resigned as UAM director.
“It just occurred to me that there really is no more perfect scenario than I can imagine,” Miles said. “I think that after [a] long silence, as I recall, the first words out of my mouth were, ‘Well, of course.’”
Scoates, who has lead the UAM for eight years, was selected as Cranbrook’s new director after having shown his innovation skills by creating projects like, “Tamper,” a gesture recognition software and collaborations with groups such as the department of dance, design, the Bob Cole Conservatory of Music and the Carpenter Performing Arts Center.
“The museum needed to build stronger relationships with the other departments,” UAM Advisory Board President Michael Davis said, who has worked with Scoates for eight years.
“Under Chris, there has been a 180 degree transformation,” Davis said.
Scoates has also worked with UAM Staff and UAM Advisory Board to produce and present award-winning exhibitions and publications covering a broad range of art. He also helped expand UAM programming on campus, the Long Beach community and K-12 outreach.
Ilee Kaplan, associate director of the UAM, who has worked for the museum for 30 years, said that Scoates went beyond what critics thought the UAM capacity was and always tried new things to make the museum special.
“Adding what a contemporary art museum does is really to redefine what art is, and that has been what Chris has tried to do here,” said Caplin. “What his sort of policy was to focus on artwork that blurs the boundaries between visual arts, music, technology, science and contemporary culture.”
Davis said that no decision has yet been made on who the next UAM director or interim director will be, but that CSULB officials are in the process finding a replacement.