AFRICA CENTER IN NEW YORK NAMES NEW MANAGING DIRECTOR
The Africa Center, which occupies the Robert A. M. Stern-designed tower at the northeast corner of Central Park, has just hired Michelle D. Gavin as its new managing director, according to the New York Times’ Lorne Manly. Gavin is an Africa expert, writes Manly. The United States ambassador to Botswana from 2011 to 2014, she also served as a special assistant to president Obama and senior director for Africa on the National Security Council.
More than thirty years ago, the center was known as the Museum for African Art; it’s now remaking itself as a hybrid organization that mixes cultural programming with public policy research.
Manly notes that Gavin’s lead will require administrative dexterity. The institution’s rocky history includes an upcoming launch that’s been postponed six times, once when the institution was unable to meet its $135 million construction budget.
