Planning Director

Rome, Italy
Reports to: President & CEO
Supervises: Andrew W. Mellon Humanities Professor; Andrew Heiskell Arts Director; Drue Heinz Librarian and Head of Collections; and Deputy Director for Fellowships and Programs
Term: Three-year appointment, renewable. Start date August 2027

Role

The Director is the on-campus figure responsible for managing the day-to-day intellectual and community life of the American Academy in Rome. This is a role for an artist or scholar of genuine distinction who is also, by inclination and experience, a community builder. The Director leads an intellectual team consisting of the Mellon Humanities Professor, Heiskell Arts Director, and Drue Heinz Librarian and Head of Collections.

The Director gives shape and texture to the residential community through programming and also through attention to the work of those in the community. The Director must be someone who understands that the conditions in which creative and scholarly work unfolds are themselves a form of institutional authorship. The Director works closely with the Deputy Director for Fellowships and Programs on implementation and budget.

As head of the community, the Director is also a connector, sounding board, and promotorof all the fellows’ work. These functions are two sides of the same coin becausecommunity creates trust; trust encourages risk-taking; and risk-taking produces the breakthroughs the Academy exists to generate.

The Director is the Academy’s public face in Rome: an intellectual and cultural diplomat who represents the institution in the city’s artistic, academic, and civic life.

Key Responsibilities

Intellectual Leadership and Support of the Fellows
Serve as the primary intellectual resource for Rome Prize Fellows across the full range of the Academy’s fellowship disciplines in the humanities (Ancient, Medieval, Renaissance, Early Modern and, Modern Italian Studies, as well as Conservation and Historic Preservation) and in the arts (Architecture, Design, Landscape Architecture, Literature, Musical Composition, and Visual Art), offering substantive engagement with Fellows’ work and the intellectual generosity that makes the Academy’s residential experience distinctive.

Work in close partnership with the Humanities Professor and Arts Director to ensure that the scholarly and creative life of the community reflects the Academy’s commitment to transdisciplinary excellence; stimulate dialogue and exchange among Fellows, Residents, and guests across disciplines.

Enrich Fellows’ experience of Rome through introductions to the city’s artistic and scholarly communities and maintain an active intellectual or creative practice within the constraints of the role.

Set an example to the community of what the life of the mind looks like.

Programming and Institutional Vision
In consultation with the President, shape and execute the Academy’s intellectual programming in Rome, ensuring events reflect the Academy’s transdisciplinary identity and the creative energy of each year’s residential community.

Serve as a member of the Board of Trustees in an ex officio capacity, contributing to governance discussions on matters of intellectual life, fellowship programming, and campus community.

Community Stewardship
Sustain the quality of communal life as a core institutional responsibility: attend meals with the residential community whenever possible; be present at evening and weekend programs; and be available to Fellows and Residents in the informal ways that matter most in a residential community.

Foster an environment of intellectual generosity, mutual respect, and creative risk-taking, upholding the Academy’s values of excellence without elitism, collaboration across disciplines, and responsibility to the broader public.

Entertain frequently and graciously, hosting Fellows, scholars, artists, Trustees, donors, institutional partners, and dignitaries, while also sharing on-call duties with staff, responding to emergencies as needed.

External Engagement and Institutional Representation
Represent the Academy in Rome’s cultural, academic, and civic life, building relationships with Italian scholars, artists, institutions, and government officials that deepen the Academy’s presence in the city.

Host visiting Trustees, donors, and prospects in coordination with the Development, Communications, Programs, and Executive Office teams; represent the Academy externally with leaders in the arts, academia, philanthropy, and government in Rome and beyond.

Required

A graduate degree and a record of outstanding professional achievement in one or more of the Academy’s Rome Prize Fellowship disciplines, with a body of published or exhibited work commensurate with high standing.

Demonstrated expe