Prof. Charlie Walter
Adjunct Lecturer in Museum Studies Director, Mayborn Museum Complex
Education
B.S., Texas A&M University
M.B.A., University of North Texas
Academic and Professional Interests
Charlie Walter is Director of Baylor University’s Mayborn Museum Complex. With over 35 years of museum experience, Prof. Walter has also held positions as Chief Operating Officer of The DoSeum, formerly the San Antonio Children’s Museum, Director of the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science, and as Senior Vice President of the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History. Walter has a BS degree from Texas A&M University in Wildlife and Fisheries Science, with an emphasis in Museum Science, and an MBA from the University of North Texas. Walter has held numerous leadership positions in the museum field including Board positions with the Association of Science and Technology Centers, the Association of Children's Museums, the Texas Association of Museums, the Informal Learning Leadership Collaborative, the Waco Mammoth Foundation, the Texas Informal Science Education Association, and the State Science Teachers Association of Texas. He is also an American Alliance of Museums Accreditation Visiting Committee member. Walter served as Principal Investigator or a Senior Personnel for The National Science Foundation funded projects: CSI – Crime Science and Inquiry; The Texas Network for Exhibit-based Teaching and Learning; and Whodunit? The Science of Solving Crime. He was selected as a Noyce Leadership Fellow in 2010.
What is your favorite museum?
"My favorite museum is The Witte Museum in San Antonio; it has such an amazing campus. No wait…the Children’s Museum in Houston has the most wonderful, interactive exhibits. I love the dinosaur exhibits at the New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science! Oh wait! The Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History has the most amazing collections. The Exploratorium in San Francisco is The Mother Ship for inquiry-based learning and the art of tinkering! Oh, have you seen the amazing First Americans Museum . . . "
Primary courses taught
- Introduction to Museum Administration (U)
- The Museum: History, Philosophy, Prospects (G)
- Issues in Museum Administration (G)
- Leadership in Museum Administration (G)