New Collections Manager Joins Ruth Funk Center

MELBOURNE, FLA.—Sarah Jean Smith is the new collections manager for the Ruth Funk Center for Textile Arts at Florida Institute of Technology.

She will manage the care and preservation of Florida Tech’s international collection of textiles by ensuring proper handling, storage, cataloging, conservation and exhibition techniques.

Smith reports to Director of University Museums Carla Funk and will work with Keidra Navaroli, assistant director of the center, to coordinate gallery exhibits and related programs.

Smith earned a master’s degree in museum studies with a specialization in art history from the University of Florida and has over five years experience overseeing the safety and care of art objects and textiles. She previously worked as an installation assistant and the curatorial and registration assistant for Asian Art at the Harn Museum of Art at the University of Florida. Her experience also includes work as the coordinator of exhibition design and installation for the University of Florida School of Accounting and collections management intern of the Resurrection Bay Historical Society in Seward, Alaska.