The Norton Museum of Art in West Palm Beach, Florida, has announced a $1.7 million gift from the New York City-based William Randolph Hearst Foundation to establish the position of William Randolph Hearst Curator of Education, which is currently held by Glenn Tomlinson.

"We are extremely grateful for this very significant grant," said museum director Christina Orr-Cahall. "Education is central to the museum's mission. Under the energetic direction of Glenn Tomlinson, our outreach programs have extended the Norton's service to adults, school children, and families not only in the Greater Palm Beach area, but also throughout South Florida."

Tomlinson, who came to the Norton in January 2001 from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, oversees a year-round schedule of programs for the community, student and adult learners, families, and teachers. In 2004, the museum's education programs reached a total of 30,000 children and adults.

"The Norton's education programs are bringing the rich rewards of artistic expression to children and families throughout the region," said Gilbert C. Maurer, a director of the Hearst Foundation and a past Norton Museum trustee. "I wish everyone interested in the arts could witness personally the sheer delight in the faces of children, many of whom are experiencing for the first time the joy of making art. The Norton's programs should be a role model for other institutions."