Press Releases

Amgueddfa Cymru — National Museum Wales Open Meeting of the Board of Trustees

10am, Thursday, 13 December 2007
The Court Room, National Museum Cardiff

Change of Vice President, Treasurer and six new Trustees for national museums' governing body.

The next quarterly meeting of the Board of Trustees of Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales sees two existing Trustees - Elisabeth Elias and Peter Morgan - taking up their new roles as Vice President and Treasurer of the charity.

They will be joined by six newly appointed Trustees; one of the largest turnovers of members on the 16 strong Board in recent years. The new Trustees are Carole-Anne Davies, Professor Emeritus Richard Gareth Wyn Jones, Miriam Griffiths, Christina Macaulay, Professor Jonathan Osmond and Dr Haydn Edwards. Their terms of appointment run from 1 November 2007 to 31 October 2011.

The Board of Trustees is the executive body of Amgueddfa Cymru and is responsible for the management and administration of the finances and property of the Museums. It has the authority to decide on any matter relating to the affairs of the Museums.

The quarterly meetings of the Board of Trustees of Amgueddfa Cymru are open to the public. The next open meeting will be held at 10.00 am on Thursday 13 December in the Court Room of National Museum Cardiff, Cathays Park, Cardiff.

The President of the Board of Trustees, Paul Loveluck, says that conducting open Board meetings gives the public the opportunity to become more informed about how the seven national museums in Wales work, very often in partnership with other bodies in Wales and beyond.

“In line with the Board’s desire to be open and transparent in its decision-making, members of the public are encouraged to observe the Trustees dealing with a range of matters and issues,“ he said.

Admission to Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales is free thanks to the support of the Welsh Assembly Government.

Amgueddfa Cymru – National Museum Wales operates seven national museums across Wales. These are National Museum Cardiff, St Fagans: National History Museum, National Roman Legion Museum, Caerleon, Big Pit: National Coal Museum, Blaenafon, National Wool Museum, Dre-fach Felindre, National Slate Museum, Llanberis and the National Waterfront Museum, Swansea.

Members of the public wishing to attend Amgueddfa Cymru Board meeting should contact Tony Lloyd Head of Administration, 029 20573285, tony.lloyd@museumwales.ac.uk

ENDS

Press and Media should contact Robin Gwyn, Director of Communications,

029 20573162, robin.gwyn@museumwales.ac.uk

Notes to Editors:

Elisabeth Elias MA DL
Trustee (Vice President)

Elisabeth Elias read Law at St Hilda’s College, Oxford, and qualified as a barrister; she is Chairman of the Council of the Girls’ Day School Trust (an organisation responsible for 26 independent girls’ schools and one of the largest charities in the UK); she sits as a Chairman of the Residential Property Tribunal for Wales; she served as a magistrate for 18 years; was a member (nominated from Wales) of the Social Security Advisory Committee 1996-2005; has been a Chairman of a Local Research Ethics Committee and formerly a non-executive member of the Board of the Welsh Health Common Services Authority from 1995-1999; she lives in Cardiff.

J Peter W Morgan M.Sc. F.C.A.
Trustee (Treasurer)

Former Chairman & Chief Executive of the world’s largest steel lintel manufacturer, Peter was appointed a Trustee on 1 January 2007 and will assume the role of Treasurer in October 2007.

Born in Penarth, Peter qualified as a Chartered Accountant in 1970 and, after taking an MBA, his career included Merchant Banking, North Sea Oil servicing and Textiles. In the late 1970’s Peter returned to Wales to join Catnic Lintels and, following its acquisition by Rio Tinto Corporation, became Chief Executive and latterly Chairman of the Catnic Group of companies.

During his career Peter has been a non-executive director of a number of trade bodies and the Building Research Establishment during its privatisation. He has also served as a Trustee of the Community Development Foundation, a director of the Mid Glamorgan TEC, Garden Festival Wales, Business in the Community, and has been a member of the Wales Committee of the National Playing Fields Association since 1997. He became a Freeman of the City of London in 1997. Peter has been a member of the Audit Committee of Amgueddfa Cymru since 2001 and Chairman since 2005.

Carole-Anne Davies

Carole-Anne Davies is currently Chief Executive of the Design Commission for Wales. Before this, she was the Director of the Cardiff Bay Arts Trust, and previously the Trust's Commissions Officer. In addition to her immediate professional activities, other interests include positions as Founding Chair of mes:a (the organization that acts as a resource for independent artists in the performance arena), Life Fellow of the Institute of Welsh Affairs and member of the advisory panel for the School of Art and Design at the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff. Passionate about the significance of popular culture, she won the Welsh Woman of the Year: Arts and Media Award in 2005.

Christina Macaulay

Christina Macaulay has been Senior Producer of Factual Programmes at BBC Wales since 2001, where she has been responsible for programmes such as Iolo's Welsh Safari, Weatherman Walking and Saving Planet Earth. From 1999 to 2007 she served as a Trustee for National Museum Scotland. With an academic background in History and Archaeology, she is a keen museum visitor.

Emeritus Professor Richard Gareth Wyn Jones

Gareth Wyn Jones has held the positions of Lecturer, Senior Lecturer, Reader and Professor in the Schools of Biological and Agricultural and Forest Sciences at the University of Wales, Bangor and was for many years Director of the CAZS-NR (Centre for Arid Zone Studies - Natural Resources). Previous positions include Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Science and Policy Development at the Countryside Council for Wales and Manager, Chair and International advisor to the UK Department of International Development.

He has also served in various capacities with the British Council and the European Commission, as a member of the National Trust’s Committee for Wales and as Chair of Amlwch Industrial Heritage Trust and the Wales Rural Forum. His academic background is the natural and earth sciences, and he is an author or joint author of some 180 scientific papers in Welsh and English.

Miriam Hazel Griffiths MA

Miriam Hazel Griffiths is an independent researcher and consultant in the education field and has worked with clients in Wales, the UK and beyond. Previous positions include Director of the Open University in Wales, Head of the Department of Continuing Education at University of Wales, Bangor and Director of Learning Development at ELWa.

She has served as elected honorary Chair and board member of a number of charitable bodies. She has worked in the voluntary sector and has 25 years of experience in higher, further and adult education and has a keen personal interest in exhibitions and collections.

Professor Jonathan Osmond

Professor Jonathan Osmond was recently appointed Pro Vice-Chancellor at Cardiff University after being Head of the School of History and Archaeology there for ten years. Through the work of colleagues he gained insight into many aspects of the history and archaeology of Wales. His own research area in recent years has been the visual arts of modern Germany, which has given him familiarity with contentious issues relating to collection and display.

He has extensive knowledge of museums and galleries in Europe and North America, which will be of help to Amgueddfa Cymru with the plans to create a National Museum of Art on the first floor of National Museum Cardiff and the longer-term aspiration to see a new National Gallery for Wales.

Dr Haydn Edwards

Dr Haydn Edwards is the Principal and Chief Executive of Coleg Menai, one of Wales's leading Further Education Colleges. His Doctorate was in the field of biochemistry and radiation, and he spent three years in the 1970s as research fellow in the University of Notre Dame, Indiana, before becoming a Senior Research Scientist at the North East Wales Institute.

He was successively Principal of Coleg Pencraig and then Gwynedd Technical College before assuming his present post in 1994. He has held a number of public appointments including membership of ELWa and the New Deal Group for Wales. Dr Edwards also brings extensive knowledge of education in Wales and a wide range of interests relevant to the Museum’s work.

Paul E Loveluck CBE, JP

Former Chief Executive of both the Wales Tourist Board and the Countryside Council of Wales, Paul Loveluck took up his role in October 2002 for a term of office of five years. He is the Head and Chief Officer of the Museum, providing direction and leadership to the Council, the executive body of NMGW responsible for the management of the Museum.

Born and brought up in Maesteg, Paul Loveluck, a graduate of the University of Wales at Cardiff joined the Welsh Office in 1969 from the Board of Trade, London. He was acting Chief Executive of the Wales Tourist Board during a period of reorganisation in 1984. He was later appointed the role on a permanent basis and awarded the CBE in the Birthday Honours List for services to the Tourism Industry in Wales.

Paul Loveluck became Chief Executive of the Countryside Council for Wales in January 1996, retiring from the post in February 2002. Working mostly from CCW's Bangor Headquarters, he has been involved in the last 6 years in the work to protect and improve Wales' natural environment and to make it more accessible to the general public. That time has seen the development and introduction of Tir Gofal agri-environment scheme.

He has had a long association with the work of the National Museums & Galleries of Wales serving on the Archaeology Committee in the 1980s and representing both the WTB and CCW on NMGW's Court. He was a member of the Picton Castle - Graham Sutherland Trust and involved in the transfer of the Sutherland Collection to the Museum.