Gisborne secondment for museum studies lecturer

Thursday, July 3, 2008

Gisborne secondment for museum studies lecturer

Museum studies lecturer David Butts will be putting theory into practice for the next six months as acting director of Tairawhiti Museum in Gisborne.

Dr Butts, programme co-ordinator for museum studies in the School of People, Environment and Planning, took up the role last week and will continue there until the end of the year. He says the position is an excellent professional development opportunity where he can engage in museum practice over a sustained period.

“During the next five months the museum is developing a major Tairawhiti (East Coast) history exhibition and this will open at the end of my period at the museum.”

Dr Butts will be responsible for writing a development plan for the museum for the next five years.

The museum will also undertake a review of the use of space within the museum complex and a number of collection re-housing projects, he says.

“Tairawhiti Museum was one of the case study institutions in my PhD study of museum governance and I will be extending that study during this period at the museum. My experience working as the acting director will also provide rich case study material for my teaching in museum studies.”

Dr Butts will continue teaching extramural courses and supervising theses at Massey while on secondment.

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