Natural History Museum has found its new director

The Natural History Museum of Denmark — a unit at the University of Copenhagen — is to have a new director from 1 December 2024. It will be Professor Nina Rønsted, who has been acting head of department since May, according to a University of Copenhagen press release.

She faces a historic task: To unify the museum’s different departments in one new museum building that is scheduled to open in 2026.

»At the new museum we will have 7,000 square metres of galleries at our disposal to organize exhibitions and displays that are both exciting and enlightening for our visitors to explore. We need to give people the desire, the knowledge and the drive to take care of nature,« Nina Rønsted says in the press release.

The plan was initially for the new museum to open its doors to the public this year. But the construction has been delayed.

Health and safety in focus

Earlier this year the media outlet Frihedsbrevet released an article in which 26 unnamed employees fiercely criticized the working environment and management style of the former director Peter C. Kjærgaard. He resigned as museum director a few months later.

READ ALSO: Former postdoc at the Natural History Museum of Denmark: Museum director abused his power

The new director speaks of a good working environment in the press release.

The museum’s employees are extremely dedicated and often invest much more of themselves and their time than can reasonably be expected.

Nina Rønsted, Director, Natural History Museum of Denmark

»The museum’s employees are extremely dedicated and often invest much more of themselves and their time than can reasonably be expected. Ahead of us is the huge task of presenting our shared natural history heritage in the best possible way. Being part of this process should be fun. And we need to make sure we don’t lose anyone along the way,« says Nina Rønsted.

The new director also highlights digitization as an important focus area for the future museum.

»We need to develop the right methods to digitize our collection of 14 million artefacts that have accumulated over more than 400 years. Digitization democratizes our collection and strengthens the research infrastructure, enabling researchers both at home and abroad to easily access the collections and the information they contain about our shared natural history,« she explains.

Dean of the Faculty of Science Katrine Krogh Andersen sees Nina Rønsted as the right person to lead the museum safely through the changes.

»Nina Rønsted is both a recognized researcher and an attentive and strong leader with a collaborative mindset. She is committed to finding solutions and seizing new opportunities in close collaboration with the museum’s employees and staff, the rest of the University of Copenhagen, and other stakeholders in Denmark and abroad,« the dean says.

Nina Rønsted started her career as a pharmacist and later specialised in botany with a PhD in medicinal plants. Now she will be the first botanist to lead the Natural History Museum of Denmark.