Steven High to retire as executive director of The Ringling

Florida State University announced that Steven High will retire as executive director of The Ringling, which operates as Florida's State Art Museum, as soon as his successor can be found. 

Ringling joined The Ringling in 2011. The cultural institution that grew out of John and Mable Ringling's gift to the people of Florida in 1936 has been administered by FSU for 25 years. 

The Ringling is a sprawling 66-acre campus composed of an art museum filled with European baroque masterpieces and a substantial Cypriot art collection, a circus museum and the affiliated Tibbals Learning Center, the Ca' d'Zan (House of John) Venetian-style mansion and the Historic Asolo Theater, a jewelbox theater rescued from a palace in Italy. 

One of the leading tourist destinations in the state of Florida, The Ringling hosts more than 400,000 visitors annually. That might not seem like much compared to Disney World's 50 million visitors each year, but The Ringling is a major tourist draw in Sarasota along with beaches and the performing arts, including opera, ballet, orchestra and theater. 

In a statement, High called serving as executive director of The Ringling the "highlight of his career" and credited the museum's growth to the work of its staff, foundation board, university leadership and community supporters. 

“Together, we strengthened The Ringling’s financial foundation, expanded its reach and preserved its remarkable collections and historic campus for future generations,” High said in a statement. “I am deeply grateful to Florida State University, our supporters and the Sarasota community for their partnership and trust.” 

Under High's leadership, The Ringling's annual operating budget grew from $12 million to $28 million and its endowment increased from $27 million to $67 million. The museum completed a $100 million comprehensive campaign in 2019 and expanded its campus through a series of major projects and initiatives.  

“Steven High strengthened The Ringling’s role as both a world-class museum and an important part of Florida State University’s academic mission,” said FSU Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs Jim Clark in a statement.

Clark added:  “He expanded opportunities for student learning, research and community engagement while helping preserve and enhance one of Florida’s great cultural institutions. FSU has invested in The Ringling’s growth and success, and Steven's leadership helped ensure those investments created lasting impact for the museum, its visitors and our students.” 

High began his career with the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and the MIT Museum in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Following graduate work at Williams College, he held leadership and academic roles at institutions such as the Portland (Maine) School of Art and Virginia Commonwealth University. He also led the Nevada Museum of Art in Reno and Telfair Museums in Savannah, Georgia.  

Courtesy The Ringling

In addition to serving as a cultural destination, The Ringling is an academic resource that supports teaching, research and museum studies opportunities for FSU students and faculty.

During High's tenure, The Ringling more than doubled its collections, expanded its programming and educational offerings, installed major additions and undertook significant restorations. Some repairs weren't planned for, like damage to the grounds and the Ca' d'Zan when Hurricane Milton made landfall in October 2025. 

High's stewardship saw the opening of the Ting Tsung and Wei Fong Chao Center for Asian Art, the Kotler-Coville Glass Pavilion and the Turrell Skyspace Joseph’s Coat installation. He also expanded educational outreach, accessibility initiatives and multidisciplinary programming, including the Art of Performance series, whose events take place in the jewelbox Historic Asolo Theater, or The HAT, for short.

The courtyard in the middle of the U-shaped John and Mable Ringling Art Museum is filled with statues, the most prominent of which is a 16-foot bronze replica of Michelangelo's David. The Ringling Courtyard hosts public music and dance parties that serve as a magnet for young people often bypassed or turned off by Sarasota's high-arts scene.

FSU and the Ringling Museum of Art Foundation have hired Isaacson, Miller, a national search firm, to assist in identifying High’s successor.  

High's retirement marks the latest in a series of management changes at Sarasota's premier cultural and educational venues. At Ringling College of Art and Design, Larry Thompson retired on May 31 after 26 years at another institution that grew out of John and Mable Ringling's plans to transform Sarasota into a major cultural destination. 

That was also the last day of work for Maestro Victor DeRenzi, who served as artistic director and conductor of the Sarasota Opera for 44 years. 

Richard Hopkins, who joined Florida Studio Theatre in 1982, is planning to step down as producing artistic director and CEO, and assume the title of executive producer. His wife, FST Managing Director Rebecca Hopkins, will become executive director. FST has hired a search firm to fill two top positions at the theater, another mainstay of Sarasota's cultural scene.