Get to know our faculty through this ongoing series. This month, we interviewed Dr. Jayme Yahr, Assistant Professor of Art History and Director of the Graduate Certificate in Museum Studies.

What area of art history/architectural history did you focus on in graduate school? And where did you go?

I have two graduate alma maters: The University of California, Davis, where I completed my MA in Art History with a focus on gender and identity in collecting and the formation of American museums, and the University of Washington in Seattle, my Art History PhD institution, where I focused on artistic social networks in 19th-century America. My general exams for my PhD were in Native American Photography, American Art, and British Art.

And what research area do you focus on now?

I research and teach in the areas of Museum Studies and American Art. There are so many great factoids in the world of museums, but two that I think are essential to museum studies include the well-researched fact that visitors are in control of the museum experience and that visitors typically want reinforcement of things that they already know a little bit about, not knowledge about something completely new.

Best advice you have ever received?

The best advice I have from experience, rather than a singular person, is to use school to your advantage. Attend events, get to know your professors, be active in your field, go to museums, ask questions, say yes to opportunities, and don’t burn bridges. Most people would call this networking. I think of it as building your base.

My best life advice is from my mom: Sit your butt in the chair and get the project done, write thank you notes, and eat green things.

If you weren’t a professor, what would you do and why?

I would be working at a museum or an arts non-profit, which would be a return for me. I worked in museums prior to being a professor.

My plan B has always been to own a snow cone stand on a beach in San Diego. I highly recommend having a plan B.