The Jacksonville Area Museum has a new manager.
Inaugural manager McKenna Servis stepped down from the position at the end of November to return to work at her alma mater Illinois College in a full-time role as the assistant registrar of the college. The Petersburg native joined the museum on a part-time basis right before graduating from I.C. in January 2022. Servis recently completed a Master’s Degree at the University of Illinois-Springfield. Part of the research for her capstone project for the degree was in conjunction with research and the display of the history of the Jacksonville Developmental Center, which was an exhibit at the museum last year.
The museum board appears to have returned to Illinois College’s history department to once again fill the ranks, as Elise Griffin has taken over the role. Griffin, a native of Edwardsville, graduated from I.C. last year and received full-time employment as historical interpreter at Cahokia Mounds World Heritage Site in Collinsville before returning to Jacksonville. Prior to working at Cahokia Mounds, Griffin was an archives worker at the Khalaf Al-Habtoor Archives at I.C. prior to graduation. Griffin officially took over for Servis on Sunday.