Robinson says the search for a new director and for renovations have the museums playing a “waiting game.”

“We have five things at the starting line, and none can really go on until the others do,” he says.

And all future planning depends on the arrival of a new director.

“We can’t really plan because we can’t do it without a new director, and we can’t get a new director without a stable, forward-looking plan,” Cohn says. “It’s a real chicken and the egg issue.”

A search committee composed of museum curators and Faculty of Arts and Sciences professors has proposed a list of five possible candidates, whittled from an original list of 80, Cohn says.

Hyman will recommend two final candidates to University President Lawrence H. Summers, who will make the final decision. Cohn says she expects a nomination by mid-summer.

Though HUAM is widely considered the best university art institution in the world, Cohn says, the current challenges facing the museums may make it a tough sell for prospective directors.

“It would be great for the kind of people who like to sink their teeth in a creative project,” Cohn says. “Of course, a possible new building would have been more attractive than a renovation, but it’s really a creative reconfiguring, they will have input…. It’s a chance to make a difference in the institution, and that’s really why people take jobs.”

But Cuno will be “a hard act to follow,” Robinson says, especially since Cuno’s service was facilitated by good financial times and a sympathetic University president in Neil L. Rudenstine.

“We’re looking for someone with a high metabolic rate,” Cohn jokes. “Charisma, someone able to inspire everyone to work hard.”

Above all, the new director needs to understand the art museums’ mission and the difference between academic and public institutions, Cohn says.

Cohn hopes she will give up her role as acting director by the end of this calendar year.

“There are some things you can do as acting director that please you immensely, others that are difficult and other things you can’t do,” she says. “It’s a mixed bag.”

‘Never Ever Looked Better’

Despite the dearth of space and up-to-date facilities, the past year has seen significant strides in the museums’ technology and programming.