A State Museum Receives Highest National Recognition, Achieving Re Accreditation

07/29/2024

JONESBORO - Arkansas State University Museum has again achieved accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums, the highest national recognition afforded to the nation's museums. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public.

The A-State Museum has been accredited since 1973. All museums must undergo a reaccreditation review at least every 10 years to maintain accredited status.

Alliance Accreditation brings national recognition to a museum for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards and continued institutional improvement.

"Arkansas State University Museum is proud to have achieved and retained national museum accreditation for over 50 years," said Elisabeth Engel, director of the A-State Museum. "The museum staff, students, Museum Advisory Council, and university administration worked hard to prepare for our review and the team effort paid off."

"We are so delighted to have reached this milestone. Accreditation is not just a process that represents our work in the past, but also a conversation for the future and a continual commitment to high standards of the museum profession," Engel added. "The museum is deeply appreciative of the positive support from the campus community and all of our museum visitors."

The Accreditation Commission chair described the museum in the decision letter as a "small but mighty museum that demonstrates that maintaining or exceeding the Core Standards for Museums can be achieved by museums at any level or size."

Of the nation's estimated 33,000 museums, roughly 1,100 are currently accredited. A-State Museum is one of only 10 accredited museums in Arkansas.

"We are thrilled with the recent news informing us of the continued accreditation of the A-State Museum," said Dr. Will McLean, senior vice provost and vice chancellor. "This is a testament to the vision and hard work of our director, Elisabeth Engel, and the dedicated staff, Jill Kary and Valerie Ponder, and the many volunteers with the Museum Advisory Council, who work tirelessly to provide excellent programming to connect with the university and community. We are truly fortunate to have such an important educational resource in the heart of campus."

Accreditation is a very rigorous but highly rewarding process that examines all aspects of a museum's operations. To earn accreditation, a museum first must conduct a year of self-study, and then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. AAM's Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, considers the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation.

"Accreditation is the gold standard for museums - a significant achievement of which the institutions and their communities should be extremely proud," said Brooke Leonard, AAM interim CEO and chief of staff. "By undergoing reaccreditation, these museums have chosen to hold themselves publicly accountable to maintaining this distinction and have demonstrated their ongoing commitment to excellence."

Operating since 1933, the A-State Museum serves the academic mission of the university and provides quality programming that broadens the perceptions and aspirations of people in Northeast Arkansas and the Northern Mississippi River Delta region. Within this mission, the museum endeavors to connect people with their history, foster education as a family value, promote diversity, engage minds in progressive thinking, and enhance the sense of community among all audiences.

Museum gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. More details about the museum are available online at AState.edu/a/Museum.

The American Alliance of Museums (AAM) is the only organization representing the entire museum field, from art and history museums to science centers and zoos. Since 1906, AAM has been championing museums through advocacy and providing museum professionals with the resources, knowledge, inspiration and connections they need to move the field forward.

Visitors to A-State Museum often enjoy roaming through the Old Town Arkansas gallery and seeing highlights such as the mercantile.

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