The Fitzwilliam Museum has announced that Dr Timothy Potts will be their new director, succeeding Duncan Robinson when he leaves at the beginning of next year.

Potts, who completed a D.Phil in the art and archaeology of the ancient near east at Oxford and taught at the university for five years, comes to his new post with a distinguished record in running museums. He leaves Texas’ prestigious Kimbell Art Museum, where he has been director for the last nine years, to take up his place at the Fitz, and was previously in charge at the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) in Australia.

Current director Duncan Robinson told Varsity he was “rather flattered” to be succeeded by Potts, and added that “it says something about the Fitzwilliam that it is possible to recruit someone of his stature”. His comments reflect a string of high-profile jobs that Potts has been connected with by the press.

In 2001, the Independent on Sunday reported that Potts had been approached for the directorship of the Victoria & Albert Museum in London, whilst in 2005 the New York Times suggested he was a prime candidate for the same post at Los Angeles’ Getty Museum. As recently as last November, US website Artsjournal argued, with effusive praise, that he should be given the directorship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, suggesting Potts “has the mind of a lawyer, the sensibility of a scholar, and it is the right moment in his career to make the big leap”.

While Potts’ profile in the media is generally kept quite low, his career has not been completely without controversy. During his tenure at the National Gallery of Victoria, he came under fire from the Australian press for abandoning principles of free expression, after pulling an exhibition by American artist Andres Serrano. Potts’ decision came after Serrano’s photograph Piss Christ, which depicts a crucifix immersed in urine, was destroyed by two protestors with hammers, the second attack made on the work. He argued that the closure was necessary, as the NGV “could no longer guarantee the security of the visitors and staff”.

Potts has also been the target of ongoing grudges. The first result for a Google search of his name leads to a site, run by a former Kimbell employee, that collates bad press about the director. Earlier this week, Varsity was contacted by a concerned Cambridge academic, who expressed dismay at the recruitment of Potts, enclosing material from the website, and suggesting that Potts’ pay at the Fitzwilliam will exceed that of the University’s Vice Chancellor.

These accusations were comprehensively refuted by current director Duncan Robinson, and this was further confirmed by Varsity’s examination of the university pay scale. Robinson acknowledged that Potts “is the victim of a rather unpleasant campaign of derogation”, but argued that, contrary to any specious allegations, there was every reason to be “optimistic” about the museum’s future.

Tom Parry-Jones