AUSTIN, TX.- Dr. Ned Rifkin, director of the Blanton Museum of Art, will resign from that position May 31 to commit full time to scholarly work and teaching at The University of Texas at Austin. Rifkin, director of the museum since May 2009, also holds a position as professor of art and art history in the Department of Art and Art History in the university’s College of Fine Arts. This spring semester, he has been teaching a special junior seminar on the year 1962 as part of the Plan II Program. “I began my professional career in 1977 as an assistant professor of art at The University of Texas at Arlington,” Rifkin said. “Currently, I have been leading a junior seminar in the Plan II Program here at UT Austin and I had forgotten how much I love to work closely with students on developing their learning skills. “Much as I will miss working with the outstanding staff at The Blanton, I believe my eagerness to teach more and