When Margaret B. Davis heard Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts’ longtime president and CEO Linnell Bowen was retiring, she wondered: “What will they do?”

Little did she know the answer to that question would be hire her.

Davis, selected from some 75 applicants after a four-month search, is to be announced today as the new leader of an institution at the center of the Annapolis arts community.

She begins her tenure Nov. 1.

“It is a tremendous honor to follow Linnell and to lead this 40-year-old organization into the future,” Davis said. “It is a great opportunity to truly engage the residents in the arts.”

Bowen retired from Maryland Hall in June after 21 years of leading the institution. It has been headed since then by a transition team.

Davis has served as the president and CEO of the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation since 2009. The foundation provides needs-based scholarships to military children. It provided $7.3 million in scholarship for the 2017 and 2018 academic year. Under Davis’ tenure, the foundation doubled its revenue.

Originally from Chicago, Davis moved to Annapolis in 2008 with her husband, retired Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Drew Davis. She has been involved with the South River Federation, Anne Arundel Women Giving Together and the Annapolis Yacht Club.

After Bowen announced her retirement in February, Davis said, she was encouraged by local residents to apply for the job. She has had a lifelong interest in arts and education, starting with her work as a volunteer in the Art Institute of Chicago.

“I was walking through the halls of the art institute at about 9 a.m. before the public walked in,” Davis said. “This is what I am called to do, to help bring in great art and connect it to the citizens and the public.”

Before it was Maryland Hall, it was Annapolis High School, built for whites only in 1932, and open until a new facility was built in the mid-1970s.

Bowen attended the high school and returned as a teacher. It became the arts center in 1979.

Bowen became president and CEO in 1996. She spearheaded multimillion-dollar efforts to renovate and update Maryland Hall. It grew from a building with no air conditioning to a year-round facility that mixes art shows, plays, ballet, concerts and classes.

The most recent renovation campaign will add a theater production wing to the building, making it easier to build up and tear down sets.

Bowen said she was “thrilled” that Bowen was taking over.

“Maryland Hall is in good hands with this woman,” she said.

Selecting the next CEO was no easy task, said Alan R. Friedman, chairman of Maryland Hall’s Board of Directors.

One challenge of running Maryland Hall, Friedman said, is the variety of elements it offers:: a theater, concert hall, classroom, educational facility and other events.

“The responsibility we all felt, to come up with the next person after Linnell, to come up with somebody that can take this place to the next level — that weighed on us very heavily,” Friedman said.

“And boy, I don’t think there isn’t any question we did.”

Davis was hesitant to provide details on her plans as president and CEO until she officially starts.

She did encourage people to visit Maryland Hall for the Arts Alive event at 6 p.m. Sept. 8. Davis said she will be there meeting people.

“Everyone needs to come because it supports Maryland Hall,” she said. “Let’s celebrate the beginning of the future.”