The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History at the University of Oklahoma will welcome back Michael A. Mares as museum director beginning Sept. 1, pending approval of the OU Board of Regents at its regularly scheduled meeting in September.

"I am very excited that the person who played the leading role in creating a new building for the Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History and was the first director in the new building will be returning as director to succeed Ellen Censky, who has done a fine job in the position," OU President David Boren said.

"Michael Mares literally devoted well over a decade of his life to the cause of preserving our natural history collection and seeing it housed in the current magnificent facility. No one is better qualified through experience, scholastic excellence and personal dedication to resume the leadership of this museum, which is one of the two largest university-based natural history museums in the United States."

Mares, who served as director of the museum for 20 years -- from 1983 through 2003 -- was instrumental in gaining a permanent new facility for the institution during his previous tenure.

When the new museum construction and staff hiring and development were completed, Mares resigned the directorship to commit himself full-time to his work as the museum's research curator of mammalogy and to teaching in the Masters in Museum Studies Program, an online degree program Mares helped develop.

Following an internal search process, he was selected to serve again as director upon the resignation of Ellen Censky, who has accepted a position at the Milwaukee State Museum.

"Ellen Censky has done an excellent job as director," Mares said. "She left the next director with a great museum in an exciting stage of development. I am honored to have the opportunity to assume a role in this next stage of the museum's life. I did not plan on returning to the directorship, but there remains a great deal of important work to be done, including completion of the permanent exhibits and putting together museum programs that highlight the museum's great collections."

Mares said he plans to focus his efforts on encouraging increased productivity in research and increased fund raising, including building the museum endowment. He plans to grow museum outreach activities, expand production of internally produced special exhibitions and increase museum promotion.

Mares will continue to serve as one of the museum's curators of mammalogy and professor of zoology in the OU College of Arts and Sciences. He also will continue educational activities in the Museum Studies Program.

Recognized worldwide for his research on the mammals of Argentina and for the evolution of mammals in the deserts of the world, Mares recently received the Jackson Award for "long and outstanding service" to the American Society of Mammalogists and was chosen as president-elect of that 3,000-member scientific society.