The West End community is welcome to attend a special reception honoring the election of Lois Ascher as the new president of The West End Museum. The event will be at the historic Otis House, 141 Cambridge St., on Wednesday, May 25, from 6 to 8 p.m.

The Otis House – a mansion designed by Charles Bulfinch – will be open for viewing, and the reception will be held on the Cambridge Street balcony and Lynde Street courtyard.

 Ascher, the first female professor at Wentworth Institute of Technology, has been involved with The WEM for a decade, ever since she brought one of her classes to visit the museum. Titled “Boston Voyages,” this Urban Culture Studies class explored Boston’s history and its built environments.

 Ascher has served on The WEM’s board of directors for eight years. In that time, she has presented West End-related talks including a series on the importance of urban public spaces called “Democracy’s Front Porch,” “Resurrecting a Vanished Neighborhood: Interpreting Urban Renewal at Boston’s West End Museum,” and “In the New West End: From Ashes and Dust A Neighborhood Rises.” Ascher has published articles including “Preserving Community: Boston’s West End” and “Enacting Democracy—Public Space: Theater of Discourse.”

 A $10 donation at the door will be welcomed. Masks are optional.