A Fitting Salute to a General; New Director Seeks To Raise Profile Of Dodona Manor
With the multimillion-dollar renovation of Gen. George C. Marshall's Leesburg home nearly complete, a new director has taken the helm to oversee its transition from an oft-cited historic preservation effort to a successful museum and educational center.</br></br>Kirsten H. Dueck, a 35-year-old former vice president of Sotheby's Inc., became executive director of the George C. Marshall International Center, the nonprofit group that owns and operates the estate, in mid-June. She said her goal is to turn Dodona Manor, which has had more than 5,000 visitors since reopening in November, into a "true public space" where more people can learn about the World War II general and diplomat who authored the successful economic recovery plan for postwar Europe.</br></br>"Marshall had this incredible role in determining the place that America would take in the world, and so . . . we are honoring him and his legacy," Dueck said.</br></br>In her first weeks on the job, Dueck has begun carrying out her plans for the estate. Last week, she started curating the museum's next exhibit -- set to open in the fall -- which will chronicle the relationship between Marshall and British Prime Minister Winston Churchill through letters and photographs. And she is preparing for the arrival later this month of more than a dozen teachers from around the world who will participate in an intensive week-long course about the Marshall Plan.</br></br>Dueck said that in the next few years, she intends to oversee the restoration of the gardens and some of the rooms that are not on the public tour as well as the construction of an education center next door to accommodate more group tours and class visits. The board of directors is in the midst of a $5 million fundraising campaign and hopes to break ground on the education center by 2007.