THE head of Scotland's largest civic art collections is moving to a new post in England, days after revelations of a row involving the appointment of her husband.
Dr Ellen McAdam, head of museums and collections for Glasgow Life, will take up the post as director of Birmingham Museums in the autumn.
Earlier this week it, was reported Glasgow Life faced accusations of insensitivity after Dr McAdam's husband was appointed to a £36,000 post following a round of job losses. Mark Roberts became community heritage manager at the body's museums section after hundreds of posts were axed.
Glasgow Life's audit committee looked at the appointment because of the family connection and the process passed examination. Although there is no suggestion of impropriety on the part of Dr McAdam or her husband, the recruitment of a senior employee's husband so soon after redundancies was politically criticised.
Dr Bridget McConnell, chief executive of Glasgow Life said: "Glasgow Museums has undertaken the refurbishment of Kelvingrove, the creation of Riverside and Glasgow Museums Resource Centre in recent years and Ellen McAdam has been one of the key driving figures behind these projects."
After studying archaeology at Edinburgh and Oxford, Dr McAdam undertook post-doctoral research in museums in the Near East, UK, US and Europe, and was Research Fellow of the British School of Archaeology in Iraq.
Dr McAdam said: "This is a wonderful opportunity to work with a collection of international significance, fantastic venues and a highly skilled team. Birmingham is a great city with an exciting cultural offer, and I look forward to exploring it."
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