By Kendra Gilchrist
For Charleston Gazette-Mail
Munkith Al Najjar, president and CEO of the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences of West Virginia, died on Friday, the Clay Center announced in a news release.
Najjar, who used Al as his first name, was hired for the role in March 2015. According to the Clay Center, under his leadership, the downtown Charleston museum and art space underwent several renovations and expansions, including:
- Ashton’s Climbing Sculpture
- Avampato Discovery Museum Renovations for My Town Exhibit, WaterWorks Exhibit, Maier Foundation Music Studio Exhibit and Healthy Me Exhibit
- Clay2Go Traveling Exhibit
- Interactive Art Studio
- Space Lab Exhibit
- Susan Runyan Maier Sculpture Studio
Najjar was passionate about developing arts and science programs for young people that extended outside the walls of the Clay Center, Board of Directors Chairman Rob Aliff said. Najjar strove to create statewide learning opportunities, like the Clay2Go Traveling Exhibit, which makes stops in communities all across West Virginia.
Aliff, who said Najjar was “in his 60s,” described him as positive and optimistic. Aliff said Najjar “always saw the best in people.”
“I really view this as a loss for the entire state of West Virginia,” Aliff said.
Before coming to the Clay Center, Najjar worked as president and CEO of the Glazer Children’s Museum in Tampa, Florida for eight years. Prior to that, he was vice president, and then president and CEO, of the Sci-Port Discovery Center in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Rebecca Gillispie — current COO of the Clay Center — will temporarily take over operations, with the guidance of the Board of Directors, according to Taylor Gue, communications director for the Clay Center.
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