Alison Weaver, the founding Suzanne Deal Booth Executive Director of the Moody Center for the Arts, will leave Rice University this spring to become director of The Grey Art Museum at New York University. Her last day at Rice will be May 1.
“This is a wonderful opportunity for Alison that will leverage her passion for the arts, scholarly interests and nationwide acclaim as an innovative arts and museum leader,” said Amy Dittmar, the Howard R. Hughes Provost and executive vice president for academic affairs.
Weaver, an art historian by training, joined Rice after serving as director of affiliates for the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, bringing deep experience in museum leadership and global arts networks. Since her appointment in July 2015, Weaver has shaped the arts at Rice in visible and lasting ways, helping to establish a campuswide culture that places creative practice alongside research and scholarship. Under her leadership, the Moody mounts three gallery exhibitions each year, curates public art installations across campus and hosts performances, classes and hands-on workshops that draw participants from a wide range of disciplines.
“Alison profoundly and visibly shaped the arts at Rice since she took the helm of the Moody in July 2015,” Rice President Reginald DesRoches said. “Her extraordinary leadership, innovative spirit and dedication to the Moody over the past decade have elevated the arts on campus and across Houston and have earned the university national and international acclaim.”
Among Weaver’s most significant achievements was overseeing the design and construction of the $30 million, 50,000-square-foot Moody building, which opened in 2017. It was conceived as a flexible hub for arts education, exhibitions, performances, fabrication and digital media production as well as collaborations with local and international artists. Local media praised it as “one of the most positive additions of the last decade” to Houston’s art world. Architectural Digest named the Moody one of the best new university buildings in the world, and the American Institute of Architects California awarded it an Honor Award, the organization’s most prestigious design recognition.
Beyond the building itself, Weaver guided the development of a programmatic vision that positioned the Moody as a national leader in timely, topical exhibitions that invite interaction among students, faculty and artists. The Moody has welcomed more than 100,000 visitors and presented 27 seasonal exhibitions since its opening. In 2024, Houston Press named it the Best Free Museum in Houston, citing its dynamic programming and accessible approach to the arts.
Weaver also worked closely with campus partners to expand the Rice Public Art Collection, adding dozens of works and strengthening the university’s identity as a destination for contemporary art.
“It has been a profound privilege to serve as the founding executive director of the Moody Center for the Arts,” Weaver said. “Together with extraordinary artists, students, faculty and colleagues, we have built a place that invites curiosity, collaboration and creative risk-taking across disciplines. I am deeply grateful to the Rice community, the Moody team and the broader Houston public who have embraced our experimental space so fully. I leave Rice with deep gratitude and excitement for what lies ahead for the Moody.”
Under Weaver’s leadership, the Moody curated recurring initiatives that have become central to campus life, including Off the Wall in the Brochstein Pavilion, the Moody Project Wall, Platform and the Tent Series, which transforms provisional campus facilities erected during the COVID-19 pandemic into large-scale canvases for local artists and Rice faculty. The Leslie and Brad Bucher Artist-in-Residence Program brings two visiting artists to campus each year, while New Art/New Music launched in 2018 pairs Moody exhibitions with original student compositions from the Shepherd School of Music.
“Alison will leave a lasting impact on Rice through these initiatives she’s brought to life and led,” Dittmar said.
The university will soon begin a search for her successor.