QUICK TAKES - March 18, 2009

The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) of Long Beach has named Richard P. Townsend as its next president and chief executive. A museum spokeswoman said the position had been vacant for more than a year.

Townsend, 44, who most recently served as deputy director for external affairs at the Miami Art Museum, will assume his Long Beach post on May 1. In Miami, Townsend oversaw fundraising and communications activities, and served on the organizing team for the national touring exhibition of the work of Argentine artist Guillermo Kuitca, launching in October.

Townsend received his BFA in art history from Virginia Commonwealth University in 1986 and his MA from New York University in 1989. Before joining the Miami museum, Townsend served as executive director and chief executive of Price Tower Arts Center, a museum of art, architecture and design housed in the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Price Tower in Bartlesville, Okla.

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-- Diane Haithman