The Strong National Museum of Play today announced that President and CEO G. Rollie Adams has announced his plan to retire effective
December 31, 2016, and will become president and CEO emeritus at The Strong,
assuming a consulting role and assisting with fundraising and advice on
strategic museum development. Concurrent with this announcement, the museum
named Steve M. Dubnik as its next president and CEO.
A press release stated that Adams’s 30 year tenure oversaw
“extraordinary and sustained growth” at the museum as The Strong developed into
a world-renowned cultural institution and the first collections-based museum
anywhere devoted solely to the critical role of play in learning and human
development.
Adams oversaw two major building expansions, ultimately nearly
doubling the museum’s footprint to 285,000 square feet — making it one of the
country’s largest history museums — and assembling the world’s largest, most
comprehensive collection of toys, games, and historic material related to play.
He also initiated fellowship programs that fund scholarly play research, and
coordinated partnerships with such organizations as Sesame Workshop and the Toy
Industry Association.
The Strong has become a major economic driver for the Rochester
region under Adams’s leadership, annually attracting more than 500,000 guests
from across the United States and from dozens of foreign countries, and
employing more than 250. In addition, Adams has helped establish a variety of
community access programs and other community collaborations that make The
Strong broadly accessible to thousands of Rochester-area children and families
who might otherwise not have an opportunity to experience the museum.
Dubnik has been a member of The
Strong’s Board of Trustees since 2000 and became chairperson in 2014. He
resigned this position in July to pursue the position of museum chief
executive. As a long-time member of the museum Executive and Finance
Committees, Dubnik is familiar with museum operations
and strategic vision, says the provided info. He is CEO of Lexifone
Communications Systems (a fully automatic voice translation and transcription
service company with a worldwide customer base), and brings to the President
and CEO position 30 years of entrepreneurial experience that includes
leadership roles with telecommunications and technology start-ups.
This article appears in Jul 27 – Aug 2, 2016.
