AAM Announces Six Newly Accredited Museums and 15 Museums Re-Accredited
Washington, DC, 1/6/2009 -

The American Association of Museums announced today that six museums have been awarded accreditation and 15 earned re-accreditation at the most recent meeting of the Accreditation Commission. Accredited status from AAM is the highest national recognition achievable by an American museum. Accreditation recognizes high standards in individual museums and ensures that museums continue to uphold their public trust. Developed and sustained by museum professionals for more than 35 years, AAM’s museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation and public accountability. 

 

This group of accredited museums is representative of the breadth and scope of America’s museums. It includes such institutions as the Smithsonian American Art Museum and Renwick Gallery in Washington, D.C., The Boonshoft Museum of Discovery in Dayton, Ohio, the Art Museum of Southeast Texas in Beaumont, the Hampton Roads Naval Museum in Norfolk, Virginia and the Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science in Florida. Among the many inspiring stories in this “class” of accredited museums is that of the National Czech & Slovak Museum in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, which earned its initial accreditation having overcome severe damage from floods in the spring of 2008.

 

The characteristics of an accreditable museum establish outcomes toward which all museums can and should strive and can achieve in ways appropriate to their resources. To best serve their communities, it is essential that museums be committed to institutional improvement, maintaining the highest standards in collections stewardship, governance, institutional planning, ethics, education and interpretation and risk management.  AAM accreditation signifies excellence and accountability to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies and to the museum-going public.

 

“As accredited institutions, these 21 museums have achieved the highest standards of service to the public,” said Ford W. Bell, AAM president. “Regardless of their discipline or budget, all of these museums are among America’s best. The communities that these museums serve can take great pride in having an invaluable public asset in their midst.”

 

The following museums joined the distinguished list of accredited institutions:

 

• Art Museum of Southeast Texas, Beaumont, Tex.
• Hampton Roads Naval Museum, Norfolk, Virg.
• National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library, Cedar Rapids, Iowa
• Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish, N.Y.
• Studebaker National Museum, South Bend, Ind.
• United States Botanic Garden, Washington, D.C.

 

All accredited museums undergo a subsequent review within 10 years of their last accreditation award. The following museums were awarded subsequent accreditation:

 

 

• Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, Ala.
• Boonshoft Museum of Discovery, Dayton, Ohio
• The Franklin, Philadelphia, Penn.
• Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Miami, Fla.
• Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, W.V.
• International Museum of Art & Science, McAllen, Tex.
• Johnson-Humrickhouse Museum, Coshocton, Ohio
• Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, Minn.
• National Portrait Gallery, Washington, D.C.
• Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Mass.
• The Roswell Museum and Art Center, Roswell, N.M.
• Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.
• Tallahassee Museum of History and Natural Science, Tallahassee, Fla.
• University of Alaska Museum of the North, Fairbanks, Alaska
• University of Virginia Art Museum, Charlottesville, Virg.

 

Of the nation’s estimated 17,500 museums, 774 are currently accredited. To earn accreditation a museum first must conduct a year of self-study, then undergo a site visit by a two-person team of peers.  The Accreditation Commission, an autonomous body of museum professionals appointed by the AAM Board, considers the self-study and site visit report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation.  While the time to complete the process varies by museum, it generally takes as much as three years.

 

For more information about AAM and the Accreditation Program, including a complete list of accredited museums, please visit www.aam-us.org.

 

About AAM

The American Association of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. With more than 15,000 individual, 3,000 institutional and 300 corporate members, AAM is dedicated to ensuring that museums remain a vital part of the American landscape, connecting people with the greatest achievements of the human experience, past, present and future. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.

 

###

Press Contact:
Dewey Blanton
202-218-7704
dblanton@aam-us.org

Return to Press Releases

Return to the Press Room