New director hired for CSC's Sandoz Center

Polak, 28, will be in charge of numerous aspects of the center including programming, exhibit design, marketing and budgetary supervision. She also will direct and teach within Chadron State’s new applied history program.

The Sandoz Center, which was named for the late author who gained prominence for writing about the settlement of the High Plains, pays tribute to the region’s culture and heritage. Dedicated in September 2002, the Sandoz Center features both rotating and permanent exhibits, an atrium for meetings and banquets, a digital imaging laboratory, an archival library, a classroom, a gift shop, and is headquarters for Chadron State’s American Indian student organization.

“I am very impressed with the Sandoz Center,” Polak said. “It is truly a beautiful facility. Obviously, a lot of care went into its construction. I am very thankful to the Chadron State College community and the (Mari Sandoz) Heritage Society for this opportunity.”

A native of Exeter, Neb., Polak obtained a master’s degree in museum studies from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln in 1999 after completing undergraduate studies in history at Rockhurst College in Kansas City, Mo., in 1998.

Polak comes to Chadron State after working the past four years as director of the Plainsman Museum in Aurora, which has a number of exhibits about local history, an original log cabin, a sod house and a recreated 1900s-era main street. At the Plainsman, Polak has been in charge of all aspects of the museum, including acquisitions, research areas, exhibition design, educational programs and construction. She also has presented at numerous conferences and serves as vice president of the Nebraska Museums Association.

While attending Rockhurst she worked at the Louvre Museum in Paris as part of a study-abroad program, and completed internships at the U.S. Marine Corps Historical Center in Washington, D.C., and the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art in Kansas City. During graduate school she worked at the Nebraska State Historical Society and the Smith Collection Museum at Speedway Motors in Lincoln.

At the Louvre and the Nebraska State Historical Society, Polak worked with glass photographic negatives, much like those of the historic Graves Collection at Chadron State. That collection is in the process of being digitized for preservation and study.

Pronunciations: Mari (Marr-ee), Polak (Poe-lock); Louvre (loove)