The George Eastman Museum has announced the appointment of four new board members in 2018. Jack C. Garner, Dr. David C. Munson Jr., Qiming “Andy” Song, and Terry Tabor all joined the museum's board of trustees this year.
David C. Munson Jr., Ph.D.
Dr. Munson is president of Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT), a position he has held since 2017. With 38 years of experience in higher education, Dr. Munson is also co-founder of InstaRecon Inc., a start-up firm to commercialize fast algorithms for image formation, is affiliated with the Infinity Project—a national leader in STEM curricula—and is co-author of a textbook on the digital world that has been used in hundreds of high schools nationwide to introduce students to engineering. Dr. Munson earned his BS degree in electrical engineering, with distinction, from the University of Delaware. He has also earned an MS and MA, and a PhD in electrical engineering, from Princeton University. He is a Fellow of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and a recipient of the Benjamin Garver Lamme Medal from the American Society of Engineering Education (ASEE). Dr. Munson lives in Rochester with his wife, Nancy Munson.
Qiming “Andy” Song
Song’s research on the history of photography and its technological evolution began about ten years ago. It brought him to the Photographic Preservation and Collections Management (PPCM) program at the George Eastman Museum, where his interests broadened to include research on effective approaches to preserving both the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of photography. Taking advantage of the rich opportunities offered by the museum and other institutions in the Rochester area, he has explored museum practice and preservation sciences. He has furthered his study of the conservation of photographs and books individually with different specialists and experts in our region. While contributing to the identification and research of historical photographs of China held in the collections of different institutions in North America, Song has also been actively involved in raising awareness of photographic history and preservation by working with various organizations in the Greater China region. Noticing a lack of historical objects to research and teach about the history of photography among Chinese educational and cultural institutions, Song has assembled a comprehensive collection of photographs and related apparatus, books, and other publications in order to meet their educational needs. Currently, he is in the process of establishing a research center in China called Histolite, dedicated to the conservation of paper, photographs, and books. Later this year, China Photographic Publishing House will publish his book on identifying and preserving historical photographs—the first volume of its kind in the country.
Jack Garner
Garner was a staff film critic at the Democrat & Chronicle for 30 years before his retirement. He continues to write for the paper as a freelancer, with a weekly entertainment column and articles about jazz and classic film. Garner has also taught at Monroe Community College and Rochester Institute of Technology throughout his career and has served on the boards of Rochester’s Writers & Books and BOA Editions. He is one of only four people to receive the George Eastman Museum’s prestigious George Eastman Medal of Honor. He was also the recipient of two "Big Pencil" awards from Writers & Books for the impact of his writing. His book From My Seat on the Aisle, a memoir and anthology of his work, was published by RIT Press in 2013. He holds a BA degree in journalism from St. Bonaventure and an MS from Syracuse University. He is married to Bonnie Garner, former president of the Eastman Museum Council and former museum trustee, and the two have three grown children and six grandchildren.
Terry R. Taber, PhD
Dr. Taber is Chief Technical Officer, President, Advanced Materials and 3D Printing Division, and Senior Vice President at Eastman Kodak Company. During his more than 35 years at Kodak, he has been involved in new materials research, product development and commercialization, manufacturing, and executive positions in Research & Development and business management. Dr. Taber received a BS degree in chemistry from Purdue University and a PhD in organic chemistry from the California Institute of Technology. He also received an MS in general management from MIT as a Kodak Sloan Fellow. Dr. Taber was a Board Member of the Innovation & Material Sciences Institute and recently served on the Executive Advisory Board of FIRST Rochester (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology). He also serves on the Executive Committee of the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce and the Tocqueville Society Cabinet of the Greater Rochester United Way. Dr. Taber is also a trustee of Roberts Wesleyan College and Northeastern Seminary.
About the George Eastman Museum
Founded in 1947, the George Eastman Museum is the world’s oldest photography museum and one of the largest film archives in the United States, located on the historic Rochester estate of entrepreneur and philanthropist George Eastman, the pioneer of popular photography. Its holdings comprise more than 400,000 photographs, 28,000 motion picture films, the world’s preeminent collection of photographic and cinematographic technology, one of the leading libraries of books related to photography and cinema, and extensive holdings of documents and other objects related to George Eastman. As a research and teaching institution, the Eastman Museum has an active publishing program and, through its two joint master’s degree programs with the University of Rochester, makes critical contributions to the fields of film preservation and of photographic preservation and collection management. For more information, visit eastman.org.
