Chicago author, professor Jacqueline Stewart named President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago author, MacArthur Fellow, professor, film scholar, preservationist and television host Jacqueline Stewart has a new title: The Director and President of the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures.

Stewart, who was appointed the museum's chief artistic and programming officer in 2020, begins her duties as director and president on July 18. 

"Our ambition in opening the Academy Museum was to give Los Angeles and the world an unprecedented institution for understanding and appreciating the history and culture of cinema, in all its artistic glory and all its power to influence and reflect society," Stewart said. "I feel deeply honored to have been chosen for this new role and look forward to working with our Board of Trustees, our COO and General Counsel Brendan Connell Jr., our wonderfully talented staff, and with Bill Kramer and the Academy, as we continue to advance our mission."  

Stewart succeeds Bill Kramer, who was appointed CEO of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences last week.

"The Board warmly and unanimously agrees that Jacqueline Stewart is the ideal choice to lead the Academy Museum into the future," Ted Sarandos, chair of the museum's board of trustees and co-CEO of Netflix, said in a statement.

"A strong and inspiring partner to Bill Kramer throughout the period leading up to our opening, she gave indispensable direction to the curatorial program that has been so widely admired. Her assumption of the role of director and president is a testament to both the intellectual heft of the Academy Museum and its institutional strength," the statement continued.

Professor Stewart is from the Chicago's South Side. She also teaches at the University of Chicago where she is a Professor in the Department of Cinema and Media Studies and the College, Director of Arts + Public Life. Stewart is also the host of "Silent Sunday Nights" on Turner Classic Movies (TCM.)

Stewart directs the South Side Home Movie Project. Last year, Stewart joined the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures as its Chief Artistic and Programming Officer. The museum opens to the public on Thursday.

Stewart, described as one of the world's leading scholars, curators and public educators on cinema, is also chair of the National Film Preservation Board.   

In 2021, she was honored as a MacArthur Foundation Fellow and in 2019 was a senior fellow at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of African American History and Culture.  

According to Stewart's bio on the McArthur Foundation website, Stewart's work is "ensuring that the contributions of overlooked Black filmmakers and communities of spectators have a place in the public imagination."

She teaches American film history, specializing in African American cinema from the silent era to the present. In 2018, Stewart was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Stewart was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2018.

CBS Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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• University of Chicago