Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art announced promotions among its top leaders Tuesday.

After a meeting of the Crystal Bridges board of directors Jan. 29, the board - including chairman and museum founder Alice Walton - promoted Executive Director Don Bacigalupi into the newly created position of president and added him to the board of directors.

Rod Bigelow, who worked two years under Bacigalupi in Bacigalupi’s previous job as head of the Toledo Museum of Art in Ohio, will replace Bacigalupi as executive director of Crystal Bridges while maintaining his former duties as deputy director for operations and administration.

Bigelow oversees finance, facilities, grounds and trails, information technology, security, human resources, and culinary and retail activities at Crystal Bridges. He’ll nowoversee the day-to-day operations of the museum, as well, said Laura Jacobs, director of communications.

Bacigalupi came toCrystal Bridges in 2009, and Bigelow arrived a year later. Their promotions are effective immediately, according to a museum news release.Jacobs would not disclose their salaries.

The museum operates on an annual budget of about $19.8 million. Admission to the museum is free for patrons, thanks to underwriting from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. Tickets are sold for some special and temporary exhibitions.

Duties for Sandy Edwards, a third member of the museum’s executive leadership team, will not change. Edwards is deputy director in charge of supporting and advancing all areas of the museum. Tracy Cude, the museum’s chief financial officer, remains under the charge of the executive director, but with additional duties in regard to Bacigalupi as president.

Part of Bacigalupi’s new duties include advancing the museum’s “national and global special initiatives,” according to the release.Walton was quoted as saying Bacigalupi “has created a first-rate and highly effective leadership team, prepared to advance Crystal Bridges’ strategic plan and keep the momentum going into our second year of operation and beyond. In his new role, he is poised to take us to even greater accomplishments.”

When asked about the aforementioned initiatives, Jacobs said, “Those aren’t ready for prime time yet, but we are hopeful that we will be able to follow up with some additional information in the coming weeks or months.”

“It would be premature to go into too much detail about it,” she added.

The changes are a result of a museumwide strategicplanning process that took place from August through December, Jacobs said. Every employee at every level of the organization had a role in it. The plans developed in those meetings will be carried out in stages as far into the future as 2016.

Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 02/13/2013