TrinityCollege and the Nasher Museum of Art at DukeUniversity will receive $1.5 million from Michael E. and Kathleen France of Princeton, N.J., to establish the France Family Curator/Professorship, Duke President Richard H. Brodhead announced Monday.
The new position will be filled by a scholar who will teach ancient American art and study the NasherMuseum's ancient American collection. That collection is among the largest in the United States, with more than 3,300 objects encompassing nearly every culture of pre-Columbian Latin America, from Mexico to Argentina.
The selected scholar will give equal service to the Art, Art History and Visual Studies Department, part of the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, and the Nasher Museum of Art.
The search for the first France Family Curator/Professor will begin this spring, said George L. McLendon, dean of the faculty of Arts and Sciences.
"We have great interest in this field of study within the Art, Art History and Visual Studies Department and other related disciplines," McLendon said. "The France Family Curator/Professorship will enrich collaboration between the faculty and museum, and provide new opportunities to engage students."
Arts and Sciences includes TrinityCollege, in which more than 80 percent of Duke's 6,500 undergraduates are enrolled, and many of the programs in the graduate school.
The NasherMuseum at Duke is a new center for the arts that serves the university, Research Triangle area and surrounding region with exhibitions and educational programs. Founded in 1969 as the Duke University Museum of Art, the museum opened its new building designed by Rafael Vinoly on Oct. 2, 2005.
Michael E. France is senior managing director and co-chief operating officer of Kroll Zolfo Cooper, responsible for the day-to-day operations of Kroll's North American Corporate Advisory and Restructuring Group. He is also a member of Kroll's Executive Committee. He has provided advisory and interim management services to troubled companies for more than 25 years. One such client was Enron, and France served as a member of the interim management team after the company filed bankruptcy. Previously, France was a principal of Zolfo Cooper LLC, which was acquired by Kroll in 2002.
Kathleen France serves on the board of The Corner House Foundation, which provides counseling services to troubled adolescents.
In 2002, the couple established the France Focus Endowment at Duke with a $250,000 gift. The Focus Program provides students with an opportunity to be exposed to ideas from different disciplines across the humanities, sciences and social sciences.
The Frances are the parents of Duke graduates Kristen E. France, Class of 2006, and Michael G. France, Class of 2003, who is married to Hillary Adams France, Class of 2003.