Image: Dr Gavin J. Svenson (Oxford Museum of Natural History)
The new appointment, described as world’s foremost praying mantis experts, joins from Cleveland Museum of Natural History.
A new director has been appointed at Oxford University’s Museum of Natural History.
Dr Gavin J. Svenson will start in post in September, and will become a Fellow of Kellogg College, Oxford.
The new appointment takes over from Professor Paul Smith, who retired in September 2024 after 13 years in the position.
Dr Svenson wil join the post from the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in Ohio, USA. There, he was curator of invertebrate zoology and, since 2022, its chief science officer.
While at the American museum he managed the museum’s research and conservation staff, a collection of more than 5 million specimens, and 12,500 acres of protected land across Northeast Ohio.
Dr Svenson is said to be one of the world’s foremost experts on the praying mantis.
Welcoming the new appointment, the vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, Professor Irene Tracey CBE, FRS, FMedSci, said Dr Svenson “ brings a wealth of experience in museum transformation, collections care, research and public programming, all of which will be hugely valuable as the museum continues in its mission to share understanding of the natural world with audiences across the globe.’
Baroness Katherine Willis CBE, chair of the Museum of Natural History board of visitors, said Dr Svenson’s experience, leading scientific research and museum outreach in Cleveland, “will be a great asset”.
Responding to his appointment, Dr Svenson said his appointment was “both a profound responsibility and an incredible opportunity to connect the science of our natural world with the community and to demonstrate its enduring relevance and importance in our daily lives”.
