The Alliance Announces One Newly Accredited Museum and Seven Museums Re-Accredited

Posted on Nov 15, 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

November 15, 2016

ARLINGTON, VA–The American Alliance of Museums has announced that one museum was newly accredited and seven museums earned re-accreditation at the October 13-14, 2016 meeting of the Accreditation Commission.

Through a rigorous process of self-assessment and review by their peers, these museums have demonstrated they meet Standards and Best Practices and shown themselves to be core educational entities that are good stewards of the collections and resources they hold in the public trust.

As the ultimate mark of distinction in the museum field, accreditation signifies excellence and credibility to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies and to the museum-going public. Developed and sustained by museum professionals for 45 years, the museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation and public accountability. Accreditation helps to ensure the integrity and accessibility of museum collections, reinforce the education and public service roles of museums and promote good governance practices and ethical behavior.

“Accredited museums are a community of institutions that have chosen to hold themselves publicly accountable to excellence,” said Laura Lott, Alliance president and CEO. “Accreditation is clearly a significant achievement, of which both the institutions and the communities they serve can be extremely proud.”

According to Accreditation Commission Chair Burt Logan, “this group of accredited museums is representative of the diversity of America’s museums, including everything from art museums to historical museums to a botanical garden.”

The following museums were awarded accreditation. First-time awards are indicated with an asterisk:

Cheekwood Botanical Garden & Museum of Art, Nashville, TN
Maryhill Museum of Art, Goldendale, WA
Mississippi Museum of Art, Jackson, MS*
Museum of History & Industry, Seattle, WA
Old Cowtown Museum, Wichita, KS
San Diego Museum of Art, San Diego, CA
Stearns History Museum – Stearns County Historical Society, St. Cloud, MN
Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, Hagerstown, MD

Of the nation’s estimated 35,000 museums, 1,056 are currently accredited. To earn accreditation a museum submits a self-study questionnaire and key operational documents for evaluation then undergoes a site visit by a two-person team of peers. The Accreditation Commission considers these results to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation.

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

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance 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. Representing more than 30,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, institutions, and corporate partners serving the museum field, the Alliance stands for the broad scope of the museum community. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.

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