The Ringling Welcomes New Deputy Director

April 4, 2022 – Sarasota

The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art is pleased to announce the appointment of Jean Evans as Deputy Director. Evans comes to The Ringling from the University of Chicago where she served as the Deputy Director and Chief Curator of the Oriental Institute (OI). At the OI, Dr. Evans oversaw the complete renovation of the OI Museum and day to day operations of the Institute. Evans joined the OI in September of 2016 as its Chief Curator and Deputy Director for Collections and Exhibitions and was appointed as the OI’s Deputy Director in 2019. Prior to her position in Chicago, Evans held a postdoctoral fellowship at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität in Munich and worked as assistant curator at the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Evans holds a Ph.D. in Art History from New York University’s Institute of Fine Arts and was recently a participant in the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business Executive Program for Emerging Leaders.

Steven High, Executive Director of The Ringling says, “I am thrilled to welcome Jean as our Deputy Director. She brings to The Ringling strong organizational skills and a robust academic background in scholarly research and writing. I look forward to collaborating with her on expanding our operational excellence and providing our visitors with an extraordinary experience.”

At The Ringling, Evans will oversee the museum’s day to day operations including Accounting & Budgeting, Administrative Services, Events & Rentals, Information Technology, Physical Plant, Safety & Security, and Visitor/Retail Services as well as serve as a member of the Ringling Foundation staff as the liaison to The Ringling Board of Directors for finance, audit, and facilities standing committees. Evans will be a key member of The Ringling’s leadership team and will work closely with the Executive Director of The Ringling on strategy and planning.  

In her academic work, Evans is the author of The Lives of Sumerian Sculpture: An Archaeology of the Early Dynastic Temple (2012), and her co-edited volumes include the Met exhibition catalogue Beyond Babylon: Art, Trade, and Diplomacy in the Second Millennium B.C. (2008) and Mesopotamian Temple Inventories in the Third and Second Millennia BCE: Integrating Archaeological, Textual, and Visual Sources (2019).

“As a museum professional, I am thrilled to have this opportunity to broaden the scope of my experiences at The Ringling, Evans said. The Ringling is a premier arts and culture destination that I’ve always admired from afar.”