Bethel Woods Center for the Arts Appoints Dr. Neal V. Hitch as Senior Curator

Bethel Woods Center for the Arts has selected Dr. Neal V. Hitch as Senior Curator of The Museum at Bethel Woods, following an executive search process led by Arts Consulting Group (ACG). He began his tenure on January 6, 2020.

A historian, preservation architect, museum specialist, and musician, Dr. Hitch has held various senior leadership roles over the course of his 25-year career, including Executive Director at Hawaiian Mission Houses, Executive Director at Imperial Valley Desert Museum, and Director at the National Museum of the Turks and Caicos Islands. He also worked within the Facilities Management Division of the Ohio Historical Society for 10 years, serving as Restoration and Planning Project Specialist and Associate Project Architect. For the last decade, he has also been working within the design collective i/thee, leading art and architecture camps and designing large-scale inhabitable artworks.

In addition to receiving numerous honors and awards, Dr. Hitch has published various books, professional articles, and technical reports. He has guest lectured at several institutions of higher education, such as Capital University, Otterbein College, and The Ohio State University. Dr. Hitch holds a bachelor of science in architecture, master of architecture, master of arts in American history, and doctor of philosophy in American history from The Ohio State University.

In making the announcement, Chief Executive Officer Eric Frances, said, "We are excited to welcome Dr. Hitch to Bethel Woods, where his passion for art and music can find a home on our historic grounds."

"It is a privilege to work somewhere that most people come on their day off or their vacation," said Dr. Hitch. "People have a lot of things they could do with their free time-it is a constant priority to make The Museum a place that meets expectations, is authentic, and is fun."

"ACG congratulates Dr. Neal V. Hitch on his new role as Senior Curator at The Museum at Bethel Woods," said ACG Senior Vice President Wyona Lynch-McWhite. "His expertise within the museum field will help create new opportunities for visitors to explore the social, political, cultural, and musical transformations of the 1960s. We wish him and the entire museum team at Bethel Woods all the best as they continue to present exhibits and programming that tell the story of the '60s."

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