New Oregon Arts Commission commissioner Lawrence Fong is on the board of the Morris Graves Foundation./Courtesy Morris Graves Foundation

The Oregon Arts Commission added two new commissioners to its roster, bringing the number up to eight, which is one short of a full complement.The resignations of five commissioners over the firing of former executive director Christine D’Arcy last fall (in two waves, the last one in February) created a commissioner deficit, which is now mostly filled.

The two new commissioners are Lawrence Fong and Michael Dalton. Dalton was an educator of educators, serving as a professor in Oregon State University’s College of Education. He is the board chair of the Da Vinci Days Festival in Corvallis (which argues for his understanding of the benefits that come from blending arts and sciences), and he is also the board chair of the Newport Symphony. Fong was associate director and curator of American art from 1996 until 2009 at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art, and before joining that museum in 1989, he was collections manager at the Portland Art Museum. He now serves on the board of the Morris Graves Foundation.

They will join the conversation around the role and structure of the arts commission, which has begun under board chair Julie Vigeland, and will extend to a “big think” by the Cultural Advocacy Coalition to help the governor develop arts policy initiatives. At least that’s what I think it is. So far, that process hasn’t been very public, though April Baer’s State of Wonder on OPB addressed it with the CAC’s Chris Coleman and Christine Drazan.

Speaking of the executive director position, which Shannon Planchon is filling on an interim basis, the search for a permanent leader has been extended. Applications will now be accepted at www.oregonjobs.org through Monday, April 28. Read the complete job posting here. Questions should be directed to Twyla Lawson, the state’s executive recruiter, at twyla.lawson@state.or.us,