WINNIPEG.-The Winnipeg Art Gallery today announced the appointment of Dr. Stephen Borys as the Director of the Gallery, effective June 15, 2008.

Following a competitive search across North America, the WAG Search Committee selected Dr. Stephen Borys, who comes to Winnipeg from The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida where he held the position of Ulla R. Searing Curator of Collections. He also holds an adjunct faculty position at Florida State University, and is a Research Scholar at New College in Sarasota. The Ringling is ranked among the top twenty museums in the United States, and is the largest university art museum through its association with Florida State University. As chief curator at the Ringling, Dr. Borys oversaw the art collections and exhibition programs of the Museum of Art and Ca d'Zan Mansion.

Borys was born and raised in Winnipeg, and attended Jefferson Junior High and Springfield Collegiate Institute, before his studies at the University of Winnipeg.

"Our board and staff are excited to welcome Dr. Borys to the Gallery and look forward to continuing to build on our recent successes," stated Gordon R. Gage, Chair of the WAG Board of Governors. "These are exciting times for The Winnipeg Art Gallery and Stephen will be a strong leader for the institution. We're pleased to welcome him back home to Winnipeg."

"As the WAG approaches its centenary, I cannot think of a more exciting time to lead this distinguished institution and join an outstanding team of museum professionals," says Stephen Borys. "It is also a privilege to return to the city where I was raised and support the cultural life of Winnipeg and the Gallery's place across North America and abroad."

Prior to Sarasota, Dr. Borys was senior curator at the Allen Memorial Art Museum, at Oberlin College, Ohio, where he also taught in the Art History Department, and was editor of the AMAM Bulletin. Before Oberlin, Borys was assistant curator in European and American art at the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa, and has also worked at the Canadian Center for Architecture, Montreal.

Dr. Borys has organized numerous exhibitions, written accompanying catalogues and articles, and lectured across North America. He is a fellow of the Getty Leadership Institute, Los Angeles, and the Royal Collections Studies Program, Windsor, and is the recipient of research and exhibition grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Samuel H. Kress Foundation, Florida State University, Ohio Arts and Humanities Councils, Oberlin College, and the Canada Council. He holds a Ph.D. in Art and Architectural History from McGill University, Montréal, a M.A. in Art History from the University of Toronto, a B.A. Honors in Art History from the University of Winnipeg, and is currently enrolled in the Executive MBA program at University of South Florida, Tampa.

He is married to Hazel Mouzon Borys, who holds Engineering and MBA degrees from Ohio State University, and is the managing principal of PlaceMakers, a new urbanist town planning and architectural firm. They have a son, Roman Mikhail Borys, who is 3 ½ years old.