Museum foundation names executive director, CEO
Geoffrey K. Fleming begins March 4
The Reading Public Museum has a new executive director and CEO.
Geoffrey K. Fleming will begin March 4, the Reading Public Museum Foundation announced Tuesday.
Fleming will replace Paul G. Oxholm, interim director and CEO, who served in the position since May 2022.
Fleming has served nearly 25 years with the Huntington Museum of Art, most recently as its executive director. The museum in Huntington, W. Va., is the largest private museum in the state.
During Fleming’s tenure, Huntington received a number of awards and accolades, including being named 2021 Institution of the Year by the West Virginia Association of Museums.
“I look forward to bringing my experience and energy to the Reading Public Museum,” Fleming said in a release, calling his move to Pennsylvania a homecoming of sorts.
“My grandmother was born and raised in northeast Pennsylvania,” he said. “It is where her immigrant parents came to find a better life, where my great-grandfather worked
“I look forward to bringing my experience and energy to the Reading Public Museum.”
as a coal miner and where he dreamed that his children, grandchildren and future generations would achieve a greater level of success than he did during his short life.”
Fleming holds a Master of Art Administration degree from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago and a Bachelor of Arts degree in historic preservation from Mary Washington College, now University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Va.
He has an extensive background as a lecturer and conference presenter.
Fleming has authored, co-authored or contributed to nearly 40 scholarly publications, including books and catalogs on American art and history, and has written for magazines, such as American Art Review.
He has also served on several regional educational and charitable boards.
During the past eight years, Fleming has worked as a major grant reviewer for the Institute of Museum and Library Services, National Endowment for the Humanities and the Kentucky Arts Council.
He also served as an accreditation reviewer for the American Alliance of Museums.
Fleming served on the boards of directors of the Huntington Convention & Visitors Bureau and Huntington Symphony Orchestra.
He also was a member of the Huntington City Public Arts Subcommittee.
Dr. Anna Weitz, museum foundation board chair, welcomed Fleming to the Reading museum.
“His energy, extensive experience, impressive accomplishments and community involvement will help us continue to educate, enlighten, and engage current and future generations,” Weitz said.