BOZEMAN - Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University announced today that its executive director for nearly eight years, Christopher Dobbs, will step down to lead a history museum in upstate New York.

Dobbs has led the internationally recognized Museum of the Rockies since 2018, guiding the institution through a period of significant growth, expanded community engagement, and transformational investments in exhibitions, facilities, collections and long-term strategic planning.

"It has been an incredible privilege to serve Museum of the Rockies," said Dobbs, who will become executive director of the Adirondack Experience, The Museum at Blue Mountain Lake in New York. "Together, we expanded research initiatives, strengthened and grew the collections, developed groundbreaking exhibitions and educational programs, and deepened the museum's connection to our community.

"I am deeply proud of what our team has accomplished and confident the museum is exceptionally well positioned for the future."

During Dobbs' tenure, MOR's annual visitation and program participation increased to more than 250,000 from 189,000, and the museum is on pace to set record attendance records in 2026. He also successfully guided the museum through the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining financial stability, organizational momentum and continued public engagement.

Under his leadership, the museum launched a comprehensive 20-year master planning effort; earned reaccreditation through the American Alliance of Museums, a distinction achieved by only approximately 3% of museums nationwide; and made substantial investments in the experience for visitors.

Major accomplishments include upgrades to the museum's primary galleries, lobby and the Taylor Planetarium; improvements to the paleontology laboratories; the establishment of an exhibits endowment; and the launch of a museum café.

"Chris and the MOR team have demonstrated exceptional leadership and fiscal stewardship during a time when many museums across the country faced significant operational and financial challenges," said Stephanie Dickson, chair of the MOR Board of Trustees. "Because of that leadership, the museum has been able to reinvest in facilities, expand staffing, strengthen programming and continue growing its impact across the region."

"Chris' leadership has put the Museum of the Rockies in a strong and healthy position that it will be able to

Tessman has appointed the museum's senior director of exhibitions and planetarium, Scott Williams, to serve as interim executive director while a committee is formed to lead a national search for the next permanent executive director.

"I want to thank Scott for his willingness to serve in this interim role," the president said. "I know he'll do an outstanding job and keep the momentum going for the museum."

Williams, who has been a fan of fossils since his youth, has over 23 years of museum experience. He served as fossil lab and field manager and as collections and exhibitions director for the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Illinois, and he led important dinosaur digs in the Hell Creek and Morrison formations. He has an Associate of Science from Rock Valley College, studied geology at Northern Illinois University and is a member of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology. He has been with MOR since 2017.

"I'm grateful for the opportunity and honored to serve in this role. I look forward to continuing the work that Museum of the Rockies does to bring the history and paleontology of our region alive for our visitors," Williams said.

Dobbs' final day with the museum will be June 30.