Erin M. Coe: From UNM graduate to museum executive director

Erin Coe, a 1991 art studio graduate from The University of New Mexico's College of Fine Arts, has been appointed The Rockwell Museum's new executive director. With more than 25 years of museum experience, she has become a passionate museum leader and arts advocate.

The Rockwell Museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate located in upstate New York. It offers visitors a wide range of collections and exhibitions that showcase American art.

Coe started at The Rockwell in January and looks forward to building on the museum's legacy as a Smithsonian Affiliate and making it a key cultural hub for the region by providing engaging art exhibitions and robust community programming.

Looking back on her time at UNM, Coe remembers a beautiful campus, a diverse student body and a supportive environment in which to flourish and learn. Her most impactful takeaway was her exposure to a wide variety of classes within her art studio and history program and the women's studies department, among others.

Today, Coe still uses many of the skills and lessons learned at UNM in her executive director role at The Rockwell, from learning how to work in teams to collaborating across disciplines. She credits her very first UNM internship at the Albuquerque Museum and her bachelor's degree with launching her almost 30-year career in the museum field. Coe shared that without this pivotal experience, she may not have chosen a museum career path.

As a museum leader, Coe's leadership style has blossomed over the years into what she calls "a servant-leader" philosophy. She sees it as her responsibility to communicate with all of the museum's stakeholders, encourage cross-departmental collaboration and foster a philanthropic organizational culture that will help the organization grow and transition during times of change.

She strongly encourages today's UNM students to take full advantage of their time at UNM, from building relationships with faculty to capitalizing on every opportunity, including internships, clubs, and student-run professional organizations. Her strong ties with her professors led to her career trajectory.

"You may not realize it, but building your network starts when you enter the classroom, lecture hall or studio, and grows from there. Faculty and the program's administration are indispensable resources for students," Coe said.