UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa., March 13, 2006 - Penn State Intercollegiate Athletics is pleased to announce the hiring of Kennedy Hickman as Executive Director of the Penn State All-Sports Museum, now in its fifth year of operation within Beaver Stadium.
Hickman, who leaves the post of Curator and Director of Development for the USS Constellation Museum on Baltimore's Inner Harbor, officially begins duty for Penn State Athletics today and replaces Lou Prato, who recently announced his retirement.
"Ken brings an outstanding, complete set of credentials to this position," said Associate Athletic Director Greg Myford, who will supervise Hickman and coordinate with him on the venue's growth plans. "What Lou Prato and so many others worked so hard at getting off the ground and establishing, Ken can take to the next level with a solid understanding of museum operations, funding, programming and marketing."
A 1998 Penn State graduate with degrees in History and Political Science, Hickman currently serves on the Board of Directors for both the Small Museum Association and the Small Museum Advisory Committee of the American Association of Museums. Aside from his curatorial experience, he also brings classroom teaching experience with him, most recently at the University of Delaware, where he earned a Masters Degree in History.
To date, the Penn State All-Sports Museum has welcomed more than 125,000 visitors through the doors to view the relics, learn the history and meet some of the outstanding student-athletes behind all of the university's varsity sports programs, past and present.
The Penn State All-Sports museum will resume its normal operating hours on Tuesday, March 14. The museum and gift shop will be open Tuesday-Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Sunday from 12-4 p.m. each week. The museum is closed on Monday. Admission to the museum is free.
Complete visitor information on Penn State's All-Sports Museum can be found at the official website of Penn State Athletics, www.GoPSUsports.com.
