Athenaeum Foundation hires successor for departing president

The Athenaeum Foundation on Thursday said it has hired Imax Theater executive Craig Mince to succeed Cassie Stockamp as president.

Mince, director of the Imax Theater at the Indiana State Museum for the past 10 years, will begin the new job Nov. 5.

Stockamp announced in June that she planned to leave the organization at the end of the year to travel the world and volunteer for philanthropic organizations.

She became president in 2007 and led the organization through several initiatives to preserve and reinvigorate the group’s signature landmark on Massachusetts Avenue.

She spearheaded the nine-year-process to designate the Athenaeum, 401 E. Michigan St., as a national historic landmark. The honor was conferred in 2017.

During a 17-year career at the Imax, Mince helped raise ticket sales, revenue and the venue’s local prominence. He has also been heavily involved in Indy Film Fest, for which he has served in a variety of leadership roles since 2008.

“I look forward to continuing the momentum built by Cassie and others during the past decade,” Mince said in written remarks. “The Athenaeum is an Indianapolis icon, and this is an unbelievable opportunity to steward its next evolution. As always, the Athenaeum will continue to be a place of conversation, culture and celebration.”

Mince, an Indianapolis native, graduated from Ball State University. He was an IBJ Forty Under 40 selection in 2017.

Stockamp plans to help Mince with the transition before leaving later this year.

The Athenaeum hosts its 10th annual GermanFest from noon to 8 p.m. Saturday. Stockamp created GermanFest as the organization’s signature fundraising event.

The foundation focuses on maintaining and operating the Athenaeum, which was built in 1894 and served for many decades as one of the key cultural and social centers for central Indiana’s German population. It originally was named Das Deutsche Haus, or The German House. It currently serves as the home for many businesses and not-for-profit groups, including the Young Actors Theatre, the Rathskeller restaurant and the recently opened Coat Check Coffee.