The Zimmerli Art Museum in New Brunswick has named Jeremiah William McCarthy as chief curator. In this new role, effective January 6, McCarthy will serve on the museum’s senior leadership team and participate in shaping its mission and vision. He will oversee the museum’s curatorial department and assume responsibility for the Museum’s scholarly and artistic program while managing the development of the Museum’s permanent collection and exhibitions.

“It’s a great honor to take on this leadership role at the Zimmerli,” said McCarthy. “The Zimmerli’s mission to use art as a tool to educate, inspire, and challenge resonates deeply with me. I am thrilled to lead and empower the curatorial team to advance an experimental program that is diverse, accessible, and academically rigorous.”

Prior to the Zimmerli, McCarthy served as chief curator at the Westmoreland Museum of American Art in Greensburg, Pa. His most recent exhibition, “Anila Quayyum Agha: Interwoven,” on view through January 5, will travel to three museums following the Westmoreland’s presentation. Under his leadership, The Westmoreland transformed its permanent collection galleries into dynamic, rotating displays and diversified its holdings of American artists through strategic acquisitions by Berenice Abbott, Anila Quayyum Agha, Charles Atlas, Isabel Bishop, Elizabeth Catlett, Nick Cave, Dorothy Dehner, Milt Hinton, Toshiko Takaezu, and Walasse Ting, among others.

“Jeremiah brings to the role of chief curator an extraordinary range of talents. His brilliance as an exhibition maker is matched by his broad scholarly knowledge across historical and contemporary art,” said Maura Reilly, director of the Zimmerli Art Museum. “His expertise in American art and passion for audience development will be invaluable to us. I am thrilled to partner with him on the artistic vision for the Zimmerli’s future.”

Previously, McCarthy has worked in the curatorial and education departments of the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and he was an inaugural teaching fellow at The Frick Collection, New York. Alongside his curatorial work, he has taught in museums extensively and as a visiting lecturer in art history at The City College of New York. He has also mentored as a supervisor in the Diversity in Arts Leadership program administered by Americans for the Arts.

The Zimmerli Art Museum is located at 71 Hamilton Street (at George Street) on the College Avenue Campus of Rutgers University in New Brunswick. Admission is free. For more information, visit zimmerli.rutgers.edu.