Dr. Joe B. Keiper began serving as the new executive director of the Virginia Museum of Natural History on Monday, February 1, 2010.  Keiper replaces previous Executive Director Timothy J. Gette, who resigned in February 2009 to become executive director of the Institute of Texan Cultures.  Gloria Niblett, director of administration and services at VMNH, served as interim executive director.

Keiper previously served as director of science, and curator and head of invertebrate zoology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, where he supervised one-third of the museum’s staff, a major proportion of the volunteer force, and a vast majority of the museum’s student workers, including interns, seasonal workers, shadow students and apprentices. 

Strengthening our relationship with all Virginians will be important to our long-term growth. I hope to excite the citizens, students, researchers, and policy makers about the intellectual and collections-based resources at VMNH. While our primary audience is the people of Henry County and surrounding areas, we serve the entire Commonwealth. Fund raising will be my primary task as Director. I will begin to forge new relationships, and develop an increased sense of pride that the Commonwealth has a Museum dedicated to interpreting and preserving its natural heritage.

--Dr. Joe Keiper

The Virginia Museum of Natural History conducted an international search for an executive director, attracting more than 80 applicants.

“We had more than 80 applicants from all around the world, and Dr. Keiper rose above the field,” said George Lyle, co-chair of the search committee, and a member of the VMNH Board of Trustees.  “We also owe a debt of gratitude to Gloria Niblett.  She has been a steady hand at the helm during difficult financial times and her leadership has served the museum well.”

Keiper earned a bachelor’s degree from Bloomfield College and a master’s degree from Slippery Rock University.  He earned a doctorate in biology from Kent State University, where he was a university fellow.  Keiper then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of California-Riverside.

“Dr. Joe Keiper grabbed our attention from his very first interview, and based on his experience with the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, we believe Dr. Keiper has the qualifications, energy, goals, and most importantly the ‘can-do’ vision to take the Virginia Museum of Natural History successfully to its next level of development and accomplish goals set forth by the search committee and the board of trustees,” said Pamela A. Armstrong, chair of the VMNH Board of Trustees.  “We are so fortunate to have a first class museum here in Martinsville proudly representing the Commonwealth of Virginia, and we're counting on Dr. Joe Keiper, as VMNH's new executive director, to boldly lead us into that future.”