David J. Brown has become fairly familiar with the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State over the last few years.

An arts management consultant from North Carolina, Brown likes to keep on eye on institutions worldwide to stay up-to-date on what is happening in the realm of art.

“I’m a firm believer in best practices. I’m constantly looking at other organizations to see what they do and how well they do it,” Brown said. “I’ve certainly been aware of the strength of the program—the Ulrich—for at least 7 or 8 years.”

And if all goes well, Brown hopes to be leading the Ulrich in the near future.

Brown is one of three finalists for the vacant director position at the Ulrich. He visited campus this week, and gave a public talk on Monday.

The position came open when former director Patricia McDonnell left the role in September to become the director of the Wichita Art Museum.

Teresa Veazey, who has been the Ulrich’s public relations manager for more than 10 years, is the interim director while a search is conducted for McDonnell’s permanent replacement.

Brown was a finalist five years ago when McDonnell was first named director.

“It’s a different animal but there are a lot of similarities,” Brown said, comparing a university museum to its independently operated cousins. “What I think is so great about the university experience is the fact that there are incredible resources here.”

Brown has more than two decades of experience in the field, having curated at many institutions across the country. According to his website, Brown has also worked with many notable names, including Yoko Ono and Roy Lichtenstein.

Now, Brown hopes to bring these experiences to the Ulrich.

“What they say is that a good artist borrows, but a great artist deals,” he said. “Sometimes it works out well where you can take bits and pieces from other programs and see if there is a way you can make it your own at the organizations you are working at.”

The other two candidates for the position will make visits later this month, one on Oct. 22 and the other on Oct. 29. Each will give the same public presentation as Brown.

Rodney Miller, dean of the College of Fine Arts, is leading the search.