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Lynette Pohlman to retire after 55 years with University Museums

March 30, 2026

Founding staff member entering retirement after building institution from the ground up

PRESS RELEASE 
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

AMES, Iowa — Lynette L. Pohlman, Warren and Beverly Madden Endowed Director and Chief Curator of University Museums at Iowa State University, will retire June 3, 2026. She has served as director since 1980, a tenure of 46 years, placing her among the longest-serving museum directors in the United States.

That number alone understates her history with the institution. Pohlman joined University Museums as an Iowa State University student employee in April 1971, first working to restore the Farm House Museum before the Brunnier Art Museum opened. She is the founding employee of what has grown into a five-entity system of museums and public art at Iowa State University. When the first director resigned in 1980, she stepped in as interim and was appointed to the permanent role in 1983. What followed was more than four decades of sustained, deliberate institution-building.

The permanent collections grew from two donated semitrucks of objects to more than 30,000: sculpture, decorative arts, paintings, historical objects and archival materials representing 100 centuries of human expression from cultures around the world. Working with more than 1,700 Iowa State University faculty, staff and students, Pohlman grew the Art on Campus Collection from roughly two dozen public art installations to more than 2,500 dispersed across Iowa State's approximately 1,900-acre campus, placing Iowa State's collection among the largest campus public art collections in the nation. She curated more than 600 art and history exhibitions and coordinated more than 1,400 total. She spearheaded a comprehensive conservation effort for the campus sculptures of Christian Petersen (Danish American, 1885–1961) and managed more than 300 conservation projects across the permanent collection. She also served in a joint appointment as assistant director of Iowa State Center, the university's performing arts center.

Lynette has truly been the creative force in defining Iowa State’s aesthetic and elevating the university’s national reputation for excellence in the arts. . . . University Museums ensures that art is accessible to all – enriching our classrooms, campus, and community.

Wendy Wintersteen, 16th President of Iowa State University, Remarks delivered September 19, 2025, at the University Museums 50th Anniversary Celebration

University Museums earned accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums four consecutive times under her leadership, most recently in 2024. Fewer than 1,100 of the more than 33,000 museums in the United States hold that designation. In 2024, Pohlman was named the inaugural holder of the Warren and Beverly Madden Endowed Director and Chief Curator position, established by the Maddens to support the institution's strategic priorities and long-term growth.

Teaching was part of the work throughout. Pohlman holds an adjunct associate professor appointment in the College of Design at Iowa State University and founded the Introduction to Museums course. She taught Public Art: Eyesore or Treasure? and served as a guest lecturer across disciplines for decades. She presented at state, regional and national conferences and lectured widely as part of Iowa State University's land-grant service mission. 

Over five decades, more than 80 students have interned under her, moving on to careers at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum and the Smithsonian. The Lynette L. Pohlman Museum Fellowship, established through the estate of Lori A. Jacobson, a University Museums alumna whose career in the field began under Pohlman's mentorship, supports one undergraduate student annually in hands-on museum training paired with one-on-one staff mentoring.

I truly believe that University Museums has a daily impact on our community," Pohlman said. "Whether our art provides in-the-moment joy or is part of curriculum, offering new perspectives to students, I know the impact is university-wide, statewide, national and beyond, and I'm extremely grateful and humbled to have been part of that vision for the past 55 years.

Lynette L. Pohlman

Her honors include the Iowa Governor's Award for Leadership in Public Art (2014), the State of Iowa Regents Award for Staff Excellence (2013–14), the Iowa Museums Association Founders Award and Leadership Award (both 2016) and recognition by the Iowa State University Alumni Association as one of Iowa State's top 150 Visionaries (2007).

University Museums comprises five entities: the Brunnier Art Museum (1975), Christian Petersen Art Museum (2007), Farm House Museum (1976), Elizabeth and Byron Anderson Sculpture Garden (2008) and the Art on Campus Collection, a program of public art dispersed across the Iowa State University campus that has grown continuously since 1979. Together they serve thousands of students annually through visual literacy programming and curriculum tours. Admission is free for everyone.

She remains in her role through June 3, 2026 with an active schedule of programs. At Lynette's request, no retirement event will be held. Those wishing to honor her legacy with a gift to University Museums may do so at isu.foundation/PohlmanRetirement.

University Museums will share information about the search for Pohlman's successor in the coming weeks. To receive University Museums news and updates, subscribe to the newsletter through the link in the footer of museums.iastate.edu.

Publications by Pohlman, including the University Museums Collections Handbook, Volume 2: 50th Anniversary Edition, are available at museums.iastate.edu/publications. 

Pohlman addresses a crowd gathered in front of a bronze sculpture in the Anderson Sculpture Garden
Lynette addresses a crowd from a podium in the Brunnier Art Museum
Newspaper clipping from 1977 showing a young Pohlman installing a work of art
Pohlman stands in front of the Morrill Act in the only time it as left Washington DC
Pohlman power washes a large public work of art in front of the Gerdin Business Building
Pohlman speaking at a podium at the 50th anniversary celebration in 2025

Reflecting on the legacy of University Museums leading up to the 50th anniversary celebrations in 2025:

  The University Museums have grown from the early history of Iowa State into the aesthetic place the founding board envisioned. Every step we have taken to expand has been focused on the needs of Iowa State—the educational, aesthetic, and emotional needs that the Museums bring to this University. So many people support our programming and collections care to give back to our students. We strive to create a place that inspires them, honoring that 1858 founding ideal: that a beautiful place inspires learning.  

— Lynette L. Pohlman

 

Voices of Appreciation

Lynette has changed the visual atmosphere of the university through her creativity, intellect, and determination. 

— Priscilla Sage, Associate Professor Emerita of Art and Design, ISU

I have been a colleague of Lynette's for nearly 50 years. If she asks for something, you can't say no. 

— Jerome Thompson, Retired State Curator, State Historical Society of Iowa

Lynette is a visionary who also puts those visions into action and into reality.  She has been a risk taker to make the Art on Campus program reach the high level of respect and dynamism that few other universities have managed to reach. My public art projects there in Ames have been possible pretty much because of Lynette, from initial contact through the entire installation process.

— Norie Sato, Artist

 

 

Have you ever seen Lynette engage students in a discussion about art?  She can prod even the most reluctant participants to answer questions and ask questions about the artwork in front of them.  AND those students find that they actually have a good time in the process.  She has been an inspiration to us docents.  

— Rae Reilly, Former Extension Specialist, Textiles and Clothing; current University Museums docent; long-time admirer of Lynette

Lynette has been central to the arc of my career at ISU. Early on, she made it possible for me to propose, organize, and produce an ambitious project titled Expanding Environments: Transforming Metaphors of Identity. This brought together nine nationally and internationally recognized artists and designers to exhibit in the Brunnier and was accompanied by a series of public panels and discussions which students and faculty attended in large numbers. I resonated with the way her team worked together; convivial, dedicated, professional and inclusive. I was invited to submit a proposal for completing the mural in Lagomarcino (Enlightenment) and later, was asked to create the memorial for Paula Gmelch (She Was The Best Listener). Taking students to any of the museums on campus has expanded their understanding of art, of themselves as makers, and of the potential of University Museums to open dialogue about a wide range of subjects. The collection houses treasures that reveal themselves with repeated visits.

— Ingrid Lilligren, University Professor, Department of Art and Visual Culture, Iowa State University

Lynette is an inspiring exemplar of a visionary, a leader, who is able to move an idea, through will, commitment, and community engagement into a reality. Her steadfast belief that a project will be created, that you may be able to help in it's creation, that it will and does have value and worth, can be seen in every corner, every college, every department on the Iowa State University campus. Human flourishing is rooted in the values of Iowa State, as celebrated in colleges like Engineering, Agriculture, and Business; through artists, Lynette cultivates this ideal, recognizing that the arts reflect upon these values through beauty, attention, and community. Chuck and I are profoundly grateful that she found us and invited us to contribute to this most excellent pursuit. 

— Rose Frantzen and Chuck Morris, Artists

 

Lynette is a visionary. Lynette’s foresight, leadership and tireless dedication created a gem of an institution of which I am proud to be a member and supporter—the University Museums. Lynette is a true Iowa State icon.

— Jason Kogan
 

I have had the opportunity to know and work with Lynette during almost all of her Iowa State career. From the early days when the Brunnier collection was received and the Scheman Building under construction, she developed one of the outstanding university museum programs in the country. She has played a major role in preserving and restoring many of Iowa State's iconic symbols, such as the Fountain of the Four Seasons, implemented the Art in State Buildings Program impacting all the Colleges and major units during her long career. She was able to coordinate the selection of the right art for the location, time and place that will have a lasting impact. She accomplished this with limited staff and resources. Every individual that traverses the campus everyday benefits from her contributions making Iowa State a special place. There is no question that as she is retiring, she is leaving Iowa State a better place than when she first arrived. 

— Warren R. Madden, Senior Vice President Emeritus, Iowa State University

Tang Dynasty horse in the Brunnier Art Museum