Museum Director to Be Honored by Colleagues

For Ed Robings, respecting the past is both a job and an avocation.

Today, Robings’ own past as director of the Ventura County Museum of History and Art will be recognized by the state’s museum managers.

The 70-year-old Oxnard resident, who is set to retire Sept. 30, said the award for leadership and innovation from the California Assn. of Museums will be the highlight of a second career launched after 35 years as a community college educator and administrator.

“It’s always very, very nice to be recognized by colleagues and peers,” said Robings, who will receive the award this morning at the association’s annual conference in San Pedro.

Previous recipients include the J. Paul Getty Museum, the James Irvine Foundation, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art’s board of directors and PBS-TV producer Huell Howser.

“I think it’s nice to know you don’t have to be as well known as Huell Howser or as wealthy as the James Irvine Foundation or as famous as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the J. Paul Getty Museum to win it,” Robings said.