Veronica Rodriguez named interim head curator at Institute of Texan Cultures

AUGUST 24, 2020 — UTSA Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs Kimberly Andrews Espy today announced the appointment of Veronica Rodriguez as interim head curator to direct operations at the Institute of Texan Cultures.

“UTSA launched the Institute of Texan Cultures Initiative last year as part of our ongoing commitment to the ITC and its mission to give voice to the experiences of people from across the world who call Texas home,” said Espy. “Although the ITC facility is closed due to the pandemic, the ITC staff continue their important work in maintaining the physical collection, collaborating with university and community stakeholders, developing future programming, and most importantly, developing a reopening plan to welcome visitors back to the ITC.”

“These efforts are vital to advancing the museum’s success for many future generations of Texans, and I am grateful to Veronica for stepping up to lead this work.”

The university expects to conduct a search to fill the head curator position later this fall, Espy said.

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“These efforts are vital to advancing the museum’s success for many future generations of Texans.”

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The ITC head curator will provide leadership and direction for the exhibits and educational programs developed by the ITC, including care, cataloguing and documentation of the ITC artifact collection; development of innovative exhibitions aligned with Institute of Library and Museum Services’ 21st century skills; collaboration with UTSA faculty (and the museum studies minor program) on curricular and research projects; accuracy and consistency in exhibition research, text, multimedia and publications; project management of projects related to conservation, exhibitions and publications; and along with the education curator, scheduling programming that engages and connects UTSA students and the San Antonio community to Texan cultures.

Additionally, the ITC is hiring several other staff positions, including a curator of education to develop education programs that align with the ITC’s strategic priorities, and who will be responsible for curricular integration, tour and docent programs targeted to strategic groups and other outreach initiatives.

Rodriguez joined UTSA Libraries in 2015. She has a strong background in museums, collections and digital curation as well as a passion for advancing cultural heritage and community engagement, such as her work with the preservation of historical photos and print items at the Brooklyn Museum and the collection of oral histories with Brooklyn College’s Shirley Chisholm Project.

Upon returning home to San Antonio, Rodriguez helped develop the Kampmann Library Portal located within the Briscoe Western Art Museum. There, she piloted the use of oral histories and designed small-scale physical exhibits and programming for the space.

Rodriguez oversees the web and user experience department for UTSA Libraries. She was part of the team that created La Puerta, the university’s contribution to San Antonio’s SA300 tricentennial celebration, and recently oversaw the design and creation of Recetas, an online cookbook featuring recipes from the university’s well-known Mexican Cookbook Collection.

— Rebecca Luther

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