Fort Ligonier executive director returns to alma mater

After 11 years at the helm, Fort Ligonier Executive Director Annie Urban is leaving her post.

The fort’s board of trustees has announced Urban’s plans to move on from her position at the end of July. She will return to her alma mater, Seton Hill University, to become executive director of primary gifts and community engagement, according to museum officials.

A search for Urban’s replace will begin immediately, they add.

During her tenure, Urban led some of the historic site and museum’s most significant projects to date, museum officials state.

The organization recently completed its “Fortifying Our Future” campaign, enabling construction of the Center for History Education, a complete renovation and reinterpretation of the museum and critical preservation work to the historic site.

Fort Ligonier is an educational institution and destination, teaching students about the French and Indian War and George Washington’s central role in it while stationed there. More than 7,000 students visit the fort each year.

In addition, the fort is now the site for the annual Seven Years War Symposium, attracting scholars from around the world.

“We are extraordinarily grateful for (Urban’s) central role in helping to develop the fort into an exceptional historic site, museum and educational center,” says Richard K. Danforth, board president.

“But as we celebrate her many accomplishments — they are considerable — and wish her well in her new endeavor, the Fort Ligonier board of trustees is looking towards the future to the next chapter of executive leadership befitting our growing regional and national reputation,” he adds.