Category: Art Conservation
Joelle D. J. Wickens Named Director of the Winterthur/91Ô´´ Program in Art Conservation
September 01, 2025 Written by Dawn Rogala
The Winterthur/91Ô´´ Program in Art Conservation (W91Ô´´PAC) is pleased to announce the appointment of Joelle D. J. Wickens as director for a five-year term, effective Sept. 1, 2025. Wickens will lead the program in close partnership with Winterthur Museum, Garden and Library and the 91Ô´´, bringing to the role her deep commitment to students, faculty, staff and the broader conservation community.
An accomplished scholar in preventive conservation, Wickens centers sustainability, systems thinking, disability justice, universal design and anti-racism in her work. She has served as both associate director and interim director of the program, demonstrating clarity of vision, collaboration and dedication to its mission.
Wickens succeeds Professor Debra Hess Norris, who has served as director since 1997. Over nearly three decades, Norris has guided strategic priorities that strengthened curriculum and teaching, advanced faculty development, expanded community partnerships, increased advocacy for the field and secured significant philanthropic support for conservation education and research. She will continue to serve as chair of the Department of Art Conservation for a final five-year term, a position she has held since 2000, focusing on student success, faculty enrichment, fundraising, new partnerships and global advocacy for the preservation of cultural heritage.
The W91Ô´´PAC community celebrates this milestone and looks forward to the program’s continued advancement under Wickens’ guidance.