In his expanded role, Lonnberg will lead the five-person curatorial department in planning exhibitions and programs as well as working with Executive Director Mary Bower as part of the development team at the Evansville Museum.
The Board of Trustees of the Evansville Museum of Arts, History & Science announced today the promotion of Thomas R. Lonnberg as Chief Curator and Curator of History. In his expanded role, Lonnberg will lead the five person curatorial department in
planning exhibitions and programs as well as working with Executive Director Mary Bower as part of the development team.
“This is an exciting advancement for the Evansville Museum’s administrative leadership. Tom Lonnberg has overseen the expansion of the history department and has worked with the Museum’s History Committee in creating dynamic exhibitions and the highest quality of educational programming for our community,” says Stephanie Engelbrecht, President of the Museum’s Board of Trustees. Lonnberg, who joined the Museum’s curatorial team in 1988, served as Curatorial Assistant and Assistant Curator of Collections before being named the institution’s first Curator of History.
In his 33-year tenure at the Evansville Museum, Lonnberg has curated over 130 exhibitions with a major emphasis on interpreting Evansville’s past. These exhibitions have covered many aspects of the City’s history—including industry, culture, and wartime involvements. The latter have included large-scale exhibitions focusing on World War I and World War II. Lonnberg received his undergraduate degree in history from the University of Southern Indiana and his MA in history from Indiana University. From 1994-2014, he was an adjunct instructor in history at the University of Southern Indiana. He currently serves on the WNIN Community Advisory Board and on the Board of Directors of the Vanderburgh County Historical Society and is the organization’s vice president.
He served on the community planning committees for Evansville’s Bicentennial in 2012 and Vanderburgh County’s Bicentennial in 2018.
An Honorary Crew Member of LST 534, Lonnberg appeared as an Evansville Shipyard expert in the documentary film Onto Rugged Shores: The History of LST 534 which aired on the History Channel. He was a member of the Evansville LST 325 Committee that brought the historic ship
to the City for a highly successful, 10-day visit in 2003 and was involved in making Evansville the permanent site for the ship in 2005.
Regarded as one of the community’s leading historians, Lonnberg contributed to the update of the Kenneth McCutchan book Evansville, At the Bend in River and served as a panelist and co- host on WNIN’s mini-series Picture This about historic Evansville photographs.
Executive Director Mary Bower states, “I am delighted to work with Tom as Chief Curator and Curator of History. His knowledge, dedication and leadership to both the Museum and the Evansville community have been extraordinary for more than three decades.”