Former Executive Director of the Salvador Dalí Museum T. Marshall Rousseau served as an Eckerd College instructor for 17 years, influencing two generations of curators and marketers. Photos courtesy of Simone DeLoach ’08
People walking through the Arthur Skinner ’72 Gallery at Eckerd College on Feb. 26 got a glimpse into the personal collection of a master curator and educator, T. Marshall Rosseau.
The exhibition celebrated the life and legacy of Rousseau, who passed away in 2022, reflecting on the lasting impact he had as an instructor, mentor and former Executive Director of the Salvador Dalí Museum. The event was a tribute organized by one of Rousseau’s former students, Simone DeLoach ’08, M.B.A., who met him during her time as a student in Eckerd’s Program for Experienced Learners.
DeLoach, now the marketing director at DeLoach, Hofstra & Cavonis P.A., credits Rousseau with helping shape her career and inspiring her to mentor Eckerd students just as he mentored her. “He arranged for my summer internship at the Foundling Museum in London. I lived at Gower Street [Eckerd’s London Study Centre], and it was an excellent hands-on internship at a wonderful museum,” DeLoach remembers. “The Foundling Museum is a unique London museum that tells the moving story of the Foundling Hospital, the UK’s first home for abandoned children—blending social history, art and music, including connections to the composer Handel and painter Hogarth.”
Simone DeLoach ’08 and Professor Emeritus Arthur Skinner ’72 worked together to bring Rousseau’s art collection to a gallery on campus.
After retiring as the Dalí’s leader, Rousseau joined Eckerd in 2002 and taught for 17 years, working with both residential students and those in PEL. His courses included Museum Studies, Museum Studies II, Arts Marketing and Museum Lab. The Museum Lab course gave students experience preparing, and hosting an art exhibition on campus while researching artists and visiting local museums and galleries. Six student-organized exhibitions were produced between 2002 and 2016.
Skinner, a professor emeritus of visual arts and gallery director, says Rosseau’s connections built bridges for Eckerd students.
Former Associate Dean Kathy Watson ’69 (center) worked with Rousseau at the College and made it a a point to attend the exhibition and reception.
“When Marshall joined our community in 2002, he was offering guidance to so many of our students with his teaching, taking his students on field trips to museums, ranging from museum internship opportunities and leading some travel experiences as well, to Chicago and Europe,” Skinner explains.
Rousseau also played an important role in connecting Eckerd with the Tampa Bay arts community.
“Marshall also enriched our campus life by making arrangements for nearly a dozen exhibitions on campus, mostly in the Armacost library, works loaned from museums and other resources across the Tampa Bay area, including St. Petersburg Museum of Fine Arts, the Dalí Museum, Graphicstudio, the Raymond James Financial art collection, the Tampa Museum of Art, the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art, the Ringling Museum of Art and Williams Press Foundation Company,” Skinner adds.
At DeLoach, Hofstra & Cavonis P.A., DeLoach mentors Eckerd marketing students completing the required internship for their major. The internship provides students with marketing experience and exposure to professional work, allowing them to delve into the business sphere while still in college.
Hank Hine, the current director of the Dalí Museum, spoke about working under Marshall at the museum.
Rousseau’s passion for art extended behind paintings and curation. He was also a pianist.
“I was inspired by the mentorship he provided me to continue the tradition of mentoring Eckerds students,” DeLoach says. “It also led me to work with Arthur Skinner to curate the recent exhibition of the Graphicstudio works he donated to the College upon his passing in 2022.”
Through her own mentorship, DeLoach continues the cycle of opportunity that began with Rousseau’s guidance during her time at Eckerd. By supporting students as they begin their careers, she helps continue the impact of Rousseau whose teaching focused on connecting education with real world experiences.
“It was great having a boss that understood the workload and stress of balancing school, work, and internship,” says Isabella Bolivar ’26, an international business and marketing student who interned for DeLoach in fall 2025. “I gained a lot of marketing experience and was able to apply everything I have learned in my undergraduate and apply it to real life.”
