After 30 years away, Sandra Harris returned to her hometown of St. Louis this fall to serve as library director for Ë¿¹ÏÊÓƵAPP. Most recently, she worked as executive director of the Desert Caballeros Western Museum.<\/p>\n
Harris graduated from Washington University with an undergraduate degree in psychology and sociology with a Spanish minor. She is also a graduate of the museum studies program at Arizona State University and has worked in Arizona, Nevada, California and North Carolina. She held various positions at the Arizona State Capitol Museum, The Liberace Foundation, The Neon Museum, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology at UC Berkeley and the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.<\/p>\n
Harris is passionate about sharing culture and knowledge with students, and she is keen on using technology to further learning and education.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to learn something new every day,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
The University Library position encompasses much of what Harris has done throughout her career, including immersive learning and developing and conserving collections, while making them accessible to all audiences.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen I came to meet everyone and to hear about the philosophy behind Maryville\u2019s forward-thinking \u2014 being ready to shake things up and redefine education \u2014 I absolutely knew I wanted to be here,\u201d says Harris.<\/p>\n
Harris grew up in the performing and creative arts studying dance and music and singing in choirs. She was also drawn to teaching and learning. She was unsure, however, how to make a living encompassing all of her interests. She tried teaching high school, marching band color guard instruction and managing art galleries. But it was not until graduate school, when she enrolled in a museum studies class, that she found her passion.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter taking that class, I felt that all of the things I loved could be under one roof. I love business; I love managing money and thinking about running a place. I love facilities, the public and learning, collections, history and technology,\u201d says Harris. \u201cIt took a while, but after all the amazing experiences I was having interning at different museums and meeting new and interesting people I said, \u2018This is it.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Harris considers herself a huge movie fan and a foodie and is happy to be back in St. Louis to explore both.<\/p>\n