{"id":62450,"date":"2026-02-11T17:30:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T22:30:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/?p=62450"},"modified":"2026-02-11T17:30:23","modified_gmt":"2026-02-11T22:30:23","slug":"the-ashley-gibson-barnett-museum-of-art-at-florida-southern-college-announces-dr-daryl-ward-as-executive-director","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/2026\/02\/11\/the-ashley-gibson-barnett-museum-of-art-at-florida-southern-college-announces-dr-daryl-ward-as-executive-director\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art At Florida Southern College Announces Dr. Daryl Ward as Executive Director"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Florida Southern College has selected Dr. Daryl Ward as\u00a0executive\u00a0director of the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art (The AGB). Ward has served as interim executive director since June 26, 2025, providing steady leadership and building on the Museum\u2019s strong momentum during a period of transition.\u00a0
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Following Ward\u2019s interim appointment, Florida Southern conducted a national search to identify the Museum\u2019s next permanent leader.\u00a0After considering a strong pool of candidates from across the country, the College selected Ward to continue guiding The AGB\u2019s vision, programming, and community impact.\u00a0
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\u201cAs we were interviewing candidates,\u00a0I found that I\u00a0was\u00a0in effect\u00a0asking, \u2018Will you continue the great work that Dr. Ward has been doing?\u2019\u201d said Dr. Jeremy Martin, president of Florida Southern College. \u201cWhen\u00a0I passed that compliment\u00a0on\u00a0to\u00a0Dr. Ward, we discussed\u00a0how\u00a0deeply\u00a0invested\u00a0he\u00a0had\u00a0become\u00a0in the\u00a0Museum\u00a0in\u00a0recent\u00a0months.\u00a0From there, it\u00a0became clear that we had the right leader\u00a0in place\u00a0–\u00a0someone who understands\u00a0The\u00a0AGB, values its mission, and is committed to advancing the arts at Florida Southern and throughout our community.\u201d\u00a0
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A respected leader in the regional arts community, Ward brings decades of experience in education, nonprofit leadership, and arts advocacy to the role. He is widely known for his passion for the arts and his ability to build partnerships that expand access, elevate local artists, and strengthen the cultural vitality of Polk County.\u00a0
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\u201cI\u2019m honored by the trust Florida Southern College has placed in me and grateful for the opportunity to continue serving\u00a0The\u00a0AGB,\u201d said Ward. \u201cThis museum is a place\u00a0of\u00a0shared\u00a0community, and I\u2019m thankful to work alongside a talented team and dedicated\u00a0supporters\u00a0to\u00a0create meaningful,\u00a0engaging experiences\u00a0through art,\u00a0learning, and\u00a0connection.\u201d\u00a0
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Ward\u2019s leadership comes at a time of strong momentum for\u00a0The\u00a0AGB, following the opening of its building expansion last year and the debut of the current exhibition,\u00a0The Medici Dynasty: Renaissance in Florence. As the Museum marks its 60th anniversary, it continues to build on its role as both an academic and cultural resource for Florida Southern College and the region.\u00a0\u00a0
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Through its close partnership with the College, and as the only Smithsonian Affiliate art museum in Central Florida, The AGB integrates exhibitions and programming into the academic life of the campus, supporting interdisciplinary teaching, faculty engagement,\u00a0and student scholarship, while also serving the broader community through exhibitions and public programs that promote lifelong learning through art.\u00a0
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\u201cFollowing a strong national search, Dr. Ward brings extensive leadership experience and a record of academic and professional accomplishment to the position,\u201d said Dr. Tracey Tedder, vice president for academic affairs at Florida Southern College and chair of the search committee. \u201cAt the same time, it is incredibly meaningful to recognize that we have exceptional talent right here in Lakeland. Dr. Ward has the experience, relationships, and vision to build on The AGB\u2019s success and broaden its reach.\u201d\u00a0
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Ward holds a bachelor\u2019s degree in creative writing from Florida State University\u00a0alongside\u00a0a master\u2019s degree from the University of Southern Mississippi and a Ph.D. from the University of South Florida. A Polk County native, he spent 32 years with Polk County Public Schools, including seven years as principal of Harrison School for the Arts. After retiring in 2020, he briefly held a post at Southeastern University before becoming executive director of the Polk Arts\u00a0and\u00a0Cultural Alliance, a role he has held for four years. Ward also serves as an adjunct professor at Florida Southern College and is an accomplished photographer.\u00a0
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\u201cThe AGB is a cherished cultural asset in our community, and we are excited about Dr. Daryl Ward\u2019s\u00a0selection\u00a0as its next\u00a0executive\u00a0director. He has made an exceptional impact leading the Polk Arts and Cultural Alliance and will do the same for\u00a0The\u00a0AGB. We look forward to continued collaborations between both organizations,\u201d\u00a0said\u00a0Michell\u00a0Githens,\u00a0president of the\u00a0PACA Board of Directors.\u00a0\u00a0
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While serving as interim director, Ward\u00a0focused on\u00a0initiatives that reflect the Museum\u2019s commitment to education and community engagement. These include guiding\u00a0the\u00a0Ela\u2019s\u00a0Forest\u00a0project, a memorial sculpture honoring a local family\u00a0impacted\u00a0by domestic violence, into the production stage and creating the FSC Voices Symposium, which pairs Florida Southern faculty\u00a0expertise\u00a0with exhibitions at\u00a0The\u00a0AGB.\u00a0
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Ward will begin his role as executive director on March 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Florida Southern College has selected Dr. Daryl Ward as\u00a0executive\u00a0director of the Ashley Gibson Barnett Museum of Art (The AGB). Ward has served as interim executive director since June 26, 2025,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62451,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"wpai_generated_summary":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvaTAud3AuY29tXC9sYWtlbGFuZGdhemV0dGUuaW5mb1wvbmV3c1wvd3AtY29udGVudFwvdXBsb2Fkc1wvMjAyNlwvMDJcLzYzMDM1MDI4NV8xMzg2OTc1MzkwMTQwNjIwXzUwNzk4NDI4MjYzOTE5NzI4NjRfbi53ZWJwP2ZpdD04MTUlMkM1NDAmc3NsPTEiLCJ0eHQiOiJUaGUgQXNobGV5IEdpYnNvbiBCYXJuZXR0IE11c2V1bSBvZiBBcnQgQXQgRmxvcmlkYSBTb3V0aGVybiBDb2xsZWdlIEFubm91bmNlcyBEci4gRGFyeWwgV2FyZCBhcyBFeGVjdXRpdmUgRGlyZWN0b3IiLCJ0ZW1wbGF0ZSI6ImhpZ2h3YXkiLCJmb250IjoiIiwiYmxvZ19pZCI6MTYzMDQwNjYxfQ.wz4Q68Kg97_skLB5lFQsOjRkfh-fh_12p4qgN-_c6WQMQ"},"version":2,"attached_media":[{"id":62451,"url":"http:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/630350285_1386975390140620_5079842826391972864_n.webp","type":"image\/jpeg"}]},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[34],"tags":[13602],"class_list":["post-62450","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fsc-news","tag-the-ashley-gibson-barnett-museum-of-art-at-florida-southern-college-announces-dr-daryl-ward-as-executive-director"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62450","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62450"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62450\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":62452,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62450\/revisions\/62452"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62450"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62450"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lakelandgazette.info\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62450"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}