Ulrich Museum of Art Director Patricia McDonnell, who has been with Wichita State since January 2007, has been named director of the Wichita Art Museum.

McDonnell's move from the Ulrich to WAM will start Aug. 20 and be complete Sept. 15, following the transition of two important projects -- the Ulrich's gallery renovation currently under way and its grand reopening after a nine-month closedown.

"We will miss Patricia's leadership at the Ulrich Museum," said WSU Interim Provost Keith Pickus, "and we're fortunate that a person of her background and caliber is remaining in the community."

Pickus said a national search will be conducted to find McDonnell's successor at the Ulrich Museum.

During McDonnell's tenure, public programs have tripled and attendance and private fundraising has increased substantially.

"Art museums have art and audiences as their core purpose, and we found a winning formula to make stellar connections between the two and bring faces from WSU and the broader Wichita community together at the Ulrich, which was very rewarding," said McDonnell.

Before coming to the Ulrich Museum, McDonnell served as chief curator at the Tacoma Art Museum in Tacoma, Wash., and curator of the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis.

She currently serves as a vice president for the international College Art Association.