LIMA — The Allen County Museum is looking for a new director, but a familiar face will help run the facility in the interim.
Amy Craft Klassen, who led the museum since former director Patricia Smith’s retirement in 2018, resigned recently to become executive of the St. Augustine (Fla.) Lighthouse and Maritime Museum, the museum announced in a press release.
“I am very excited about my new role, but leaving is certainly bittersweet,” Klassen said in the press release. “My time at the Allen County Museum has been the highlight of my career.”
Klassen came to Lima after nearly two years as the collections manager at the Kent (Ohio) Historical Society. She previously worked as a grants administrator for Portage County Regional Planning and as executive director of Art House Inc. in Cleveland.
“The board is sorry to see Amy go,” said Jim Osmon, president of the Allen County Historical Society, in the press release. “She helped set the museum on a new trajectory, and we look forward to that direction continuing. However, we recognize the new job is a great opportunity and certainly wish her the very best.”
The Allen County Historical Society’s board of trustees is looking to hire a replacement. In the interim, Christine Fowler Shearer will step in as interim director, starting next week.
Shearer worked with the museum to create its strategic plan. She curated last year’s exhibit, “The Eight Ohio Presidents: Surprising Legacies.” Shearer, who has worked more than 20 years in the museum industry, received her doctorate in cultural art history from Warnborough College in Ireland in August 2017. She received her bachelor’s degree in art history from Kent State and her master’s degree in art history from Notre Dame.
The Allen County Museum, 620 W. Market St., Lima, remains open 1 to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and 1 to 4 p.m. Saturdays.
