Director's Message

It is with great sadness that the Oakland Museum of California marks the recent passing of Ira Michael Heyman, former Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley; former Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution; and great friend to OMCA. Mike's late wife, Therese Thau Heyman, was the senior curator of photography and prints at the Museum for more than three decades, and was largely responsible for building OMCA's extraordinary photography collection, including the Dorothea Lange Archives. Many works from the Lange Collection can be seen in the section of the Gallery of California Art named in Therese's honor and made possible by generous gifts from friends and family. We mourned Therese's loss in 2004. Despite her passing, Mike remained very involved as a volunteer and leader at the Museum, serving as Honorary Chair of our very successful Museum of California Campaign that raised more than $63 million in support of the Museum's building enhancements and gallery transformations. Mike and his second wife, Elizabeth, often attended Museum events and programs, and he was always easily recognizable by his distinguished stature, broad smile, and signature bow-tie. Both Mike and Therese were true pillars of the American museum and academic communities, and we honor their memories and their legacies.

Lori Fogarty
Director and CEO