Museum of the Rockies director steps down after eight years

The executive director of Museum of the Rockies at Montana State University, Christopher Dobbs, announced today that he is stepping down to take a position at the Museum at Blue Mountain Lake in upstate New York, according to a press release from MSU.

Under Dobbs' eight-year tenure, the museum grew substantially — boosting attendance by 30%, completing a 20-year strategic plan, renovating the planetarium and several galleries, and earning reaccreditation from the American Alliance of Museums, a distinction held by only about 3% of museums nationwide.

“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,” Dobbs said in a press release from MSU. “I am deeply proud of what our team has accomplished and confident the museum is exceptionally well positioned for the future.”

Scott Williams, the museum’s senior director of exhibitions and planetarium, will serve as interim director as the Museum of the Rockies board of trustees puts together a committee to search for the next permanent executive director.

“I’m grateful for the opportunity and honored to serve in this role,” Williams said. “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 has loved fossils since childhood and brings over 23 years of museum experience to the role. At the Burpee Museum of Natural History in Rockford, Illinois, he served as fossil lab and field manager and later as collections and exhibitions director, leading significant dinosaur digs in the Hell Creek and Morrison formations. He holds an Associate of Science from Rock Valley College, studied geology at Northern Illinois University, and is a member of the Society of Vertebrate Paleontology.

Dobbs’ final day at the museum is June 30.