Cranbrook Announces Leadership Transition at Academy of Art

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BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Cranbrook Educational Community announced that Reed Kroloff has asked to transition from his full-time role as director of the Cranbrook Academy of Art and Art Museum to a part-time role for the 2013-2014 academic year. Kroloff will continue to direct academic affairs for the academy through June 2014 and remain actively involved in key events and activities while Cranbrook conducts a search for his successor. During the transition period Allan Rothfeder, Cranbrook trustee and academy governor, will serve as a special adviser to assist Cranbrook President Dominic DiMarco in overseeing academy matters. Rothfeder, who has served as an academy governor since 2005, recently retired after a long career managing media-related businesses.

“Reed has been an invaluable member of the Cranbrook administrative team over the last six years,” DiMarco said. “He has made a lasting impact on the academy that will ensure its legacy as a place of cutting-edge ideas, art and design.”

Notable accomplishments under Kroloff’s leadership include the following:

  • Renovation and expansion of the landmark 1942 Eliel Saarinen-designed Cranbrook Art Museum, including the completion of a new state-of-the-art collections wing;
  • Full enrollment at the Academy of Art for five straight years;
  • Development, in collaboration with Cranbrook Institute of Science, of Art and Science on the Go!, a program highlighting the intersections of art and science that has been presented to students throughout Michigan;
  • Broadening of the academy’s reputation through outreach and other programs;
  • Founding of the Cranbrook Academy of Art National Advisory Council, a group of internationally recognized leaders and other educators in the arts and design field who provide ongoing insight and feedback regarding current and future academy and museum activities; and
  • Formulation of a new strategic plan that lays the groundwork for development of the academy and Art Museum for the foreseeable future.

“My time at Cranbrook has been exciting, challenging, and rewarding,” Kroloff said. “To be part of an institution where world-changing ideas are nurtured has been a true honor. Although I will be leaving Cranbrook at the end of the next academic year, it will always be a part of me and I intend to maintain my connections to this wonderful institution well into the future.

“We’re sad that Reed will be leaving us next year, but are confident that Reed and Allan will be a great working team during this transition of leadership,” DiMarco said. “Over the next several weeks, we will bring together representatives of our various constituencies as part of a search committee to identify and recruit Reed’s replacement. On behalf of the academy and CEC, I want to thank Reed for his many contributions to Cranbrook. I look forward to working with him and the team to make the transition seamless and successful.”