2004 AAM ANNUAL MEETING SESSIONS/PROGRAMS
NEW ORLEANS
COMPT Sessions
INNOVATION IN MUSEUM LEADERSHIP: PROFESSIONAL TRAINING FROM INTERCULTURAL PERSPECTIVES Through both panel presentations and small group discussions, this session will explore questions and answers regarding evolving models of museum professional training for indigenous peoples in different national and regional settings. The session continues dialogue begun at the 2003 meeting around the identification of emerging needs, perspectives and alternative strategies for the education and training of museum professionals world-wide through providing data from an international study and survey of COMPT members conducted in the summer and fall of 2003 that provides a broad perspective of museum professional training models based on multiple points of view. Small Group discussions will: gather and explore models emerging from indigenous people; continue collaborative identification and sharing of models emerging directly from intercultural contexts; share effective models arising from both limited/short-term and in-depth, long-term collaborations; and discuss documentation and sharing of practices and limitations of formal institutional academic training that negate new approaches. Chair: Anne El-Omami, Director, Graduate Program Museum Studies, The University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA Panelists: Jill Norwood, Training Program Assistant, National Museum of the American Indian, Suitland, MD James N. Maikweki, Deputy Director, The National Museum of Kenya Piet Pouw, Faculty Director, The Reinwardt Academy, Amsterdam, The Netherlands Barbara Fahs Charles, Designer and Principal, Staples and Charles, Ltd,; Alexandria, VA
MUSEUM HISTORY: IN THE PAST LIE CLUES TO THE FUTURE
We are a profession of future-oriented doers charged with interpreting the present and past in order to inspire our publics. But, what kind of inspiration can we draw from reflecting on our own past as institutions? In this session, three authors will share from their research on the remarkable evolution and history of museums in the U.S.: a story of change; continual challenge; the innovators who inspire us all; and, most of all, of endurance against all odds. Chair: Dr. Bryant F. Tolles, Jr., Director, Museum Studies Program; Professor of History and Art History, University of Delaware, Newark, DE Panelists: Mary Alexander, Director, Museum Assistance Program, Maryland Historical Trust, Crownsville, MD Dr. Bonnie G. Kelm, Director, University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA Marjorie Schwarzer, Chair, Department of Museum Studies, John F. Kennedy University, Berkeley, CA
MUSEUM AND HISTORY PROFESSIONAL TRAINING STANDARDS: REFLECTIONS ON FUTURE DIRECTIONS
This session will discuss the steps taken by three history and museum organizations to develop, discuss, and disseminate information about professional training standards and guidelines: the work of the Committee of Museum Professional Training of the American Association of Museums, the work of the National Council on Public History, and the work of studying Master's Degrees in History of the American Historical Association. What standards and guidelines are being set and developed by the professoriate for the future? How can they help with training and mentoring historians and museum professionals in the 21st century? Chair: Murney Gerlach, Executive Director, The Rutherford B. Hayes Presidential Center, Fremont, OH Panelists: Carlo Lamagna, Chair, Department of Art and Art Professions, New York University/School of Education, New York, NY Philip Katz, Research Director for Graduate Education, American Historical Association, Washington, DC Rebecca Conard, Professor, Department of History & Co-director, Public History Program, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, Tennessee
MUSEUMS AS PARTNERS IN LIBERAL ARTS STUDIES
This poster session presents a unique partnership between Washington's Museum of Glass in Tacoma, and students from The Evergreen State College in Olympia, that resulted in the development of an exhibit, educational program materials, and public arts initiatives in the community. Discover how partnerships between museums and higher education, and liberal arts studies approaches can be developed using a museum studies model that goes beyond the standard workstudy/internship model. Realize the greater depth, range, and real-world consequences successful partnerships with higher education institutions can bring your institution. Chair: Kimberly Keith, Consultant, Tacoma, WA
MULTIPLE MEANINGS: EXPANDING THE STUDY OF MATERIAL CULTURE
This session will examine ways curators and curators-to-be can acquire new skills in order to understand and interpret objects in multiple contexts, a skill seldom taught in traditional curricula. Two noted historians, and experts in domestic culture, will discuss innovative approaches using examples from their research and curatorial experience. Their presentations will suggest ways students, and even seasoned staff, can use to make new connections between seemingly unrelated topics. Chair: Lynn Robertson, Executive Director of McKissick Museum and Co-Director of the Museum Management Program at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC Panelists: Dr. Elizabeth O'Leary, Research Associate in American, Arts Department of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond, VA Dr. Katherine Grier, Associate Professor of History at the University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
TEACHING BY DOING AND LEARNING BY TEACHING: MUSEUM-UNIVERSITY COLLABORATIONS IN VISITOR STUDIES Students taking Visitor Studies courses and museums needing to do audience research seem to have something to offer each other, but how can such museum-university collaborations succeed? Hear about several case studies, what worked and what didn't, and learn how to implement similar projects at your museum. Session attendees will become familiar with two innovative models for incorporating students in museums audience research projects and will understand key ingredients for forming successful collaborative ventures between museums and universities. Chair: Elizabeth Kryder-Reid, Director, Museum Studies Program, Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis Panelists: Nikki Andersen, Vice President for Research, The Childrens Museum of Indianapolis Cathy Hamaker, Graduate student, Indiana University Purdue University at Indianapolis Zahava Doering, Senior Social Scientist, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC Anne El-Omami, Assoc. Prof., Dir of M.A. Program in Museum Education, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
COMPT co-sponsored sessions:
The Virtues of Necessity: Inventive and Responsible Volunteer Programs for Collection Care (COMPT Co-sponsor) In
lean economic times, museums are expected to maintain high standards of
care with fewer staff members and and less funding. Ponder ways museums
of various disciplines and sizes have bridged the gap by including
volunteers on their collections care teams. Panelists will describe how
volunteers are selected and trained, pitfalls to avoid, and benefits
both to museums and volunteers. Chair: Mary LaGue, Registrar, Art Museum of Western Virginia Panelists: Jane MacKnight, Registrar, Cincinnati Museum Center, Cincinnati, OH Alethea Olsen, Gallery Interpreter Supervisor, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA Carrie Christoffersen, Senior Manager of Collections and Registration, Newseum, Arlington, VA Allyson Lazar, Curatorial Assistant, Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, Los Angeles, CA
Future Visions – Future Actions (COMPT Co-sponsor)Ponder the collective visions of three respected museum professionals reflecting on the changing social, economic, institutional and leisure landscape for museums over the next twenty years. Panelists will describe key ideas, issues, policies and/or activities they believe museum leaders will need to consider -- individually and collectively -- and implement to maintain or improve their future position in society. Time will be allocated for audience discussion and debate, and recommendations on how to plan for expanded opportunities and potential, limited resources, intense competition, and other topics covered. Chair: John Falk, Director, Institute for Learning Innovation, Annapolis, MD Panelists: Stephen Weil, Scholar Emeritus, Smithsonian Center for Education and Museum Studies, Washington, DC Elaine Gurian, Museum Consultant, Arlington, VASunday, May 9
Have You Seen My Glass Ceiling? Women Leaders in Museums (COMPT Co-sponsor) How are women faring in the upper ranks of museum management -- a decade since the last substantial investigation of women executives in the museum field? This session offers a timely reassessment of the advances in, challenges to, and influences on reaching gender equity in museum leadership. Panelists include past and current directors of museums, leaders in the museum field, and experts in executive searches. Chairs: Carolynne Harris-Knox, Independent Consultant Elizabeth Schlatter, Assistant Director, University of Richmond Museums, Richmond, VA Panelists: Geri Thomas, President, Thomas & Associates, Inc., New York, NY Terrie Rouse, Executive Director, Atlanta Ballet, Atlanta, GA Christy Sturm, Director, Poeh Museum, Santa Fe, NM Marla Berns, Director, UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Los Angeles, CA Douglas King, President & CEO, St. Louis Science Center, Saint Louis, MO
The Campus Museum as a Cultural Destination (COMPT Co-sponsor) Expand the potential of your academic museum as a key tourist destination as you determine how campus museums at both public and private institutions have become engaged with a far wider regional and even national community than ever before. Panelist include two museum directors, a museum curator, and a museum planner/architect who will discuss why and how college and university museums are transforming themselves into significant cultural destinations, and the lessons that can be learned from their experiences. Discover how to engage your institution in more ambitious programming, innovative fund raising, physical expansion, and more. Chair: Lisa Hanover, Director, Philip & Muriel Berman Museum of Art, Collegeville, PA Panelists: Sandra Vlock, Principal, Arbonies King Vlock, P.C., Branford, CT Jon Alvarez, Senior Project Manager, Benton Museum, University Of Connecticut, Storrs, CT
Questioning Assumptions about On-Line Learning (COMPT Co-sponsor) What sort of Web site promotes learning? Enjoy a lively round-robin discussion of that question, exploring panelists' and audience assumptions about how people learn online, where those assumptions come from, and how they affect what a museum offers its Web visitors. Gain new inspiration on how to create new, and ultimately more thoughtful educational experiences for your on-line visitors. Chair: Richard Faron, President, Museum Explorer, Berwyn, IL Panelists: Kate Haley Goldman, Research Associate, Institute for Learning Innovation, Annapolis, MD David Schaller, Partner & Web Developer, Eduweb: Educational Web Adventures, LLP, St. Paul, MN Deborah Howes, Museum Educator, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY Jane Cross, Web Team Manager, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA
Standards-based School Reform: Implications for Museums (COMPT Co-sponsor) Presents perspectives grounded in critical museum studies and focused on the intersection of school reform and museum education. Reviews two ongoing research projects that investigate, through the use of surveys, the impact standards-based reform has on the curriculum of museum education programs. The presenters, all researchers and museum educators, argue the need for critical museum studies which are supported by the curriculum field and focused on the relationships between museums, schools, and education reform policy. Chair: Therese Quinn, Assistant Professor of Art Education, Director of BFA, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL Panelists: Patrick Roberts, Assistant Professor, National-Louis University, Chicago, IL Elizabeth Vallance, Associate Professor, Art Education, Northern Illinois University School of Art, De Kalb, IL Kate Lewis, Coordinator of Art Partnerships, The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Conversation as Interpretation: Training and Evaluating Our Interpreters Discover how interpreters can be a cost-effective way of making exhibits more engaging, and increase connections with visitors. Review current research on visitor studies and conversations in museums to see how they inspire innovation in the recruitment, training, and evaluation of interpreters at a variety of museums. Find out how training volunteer and paid interpreters to initiate message-based conversations not only personalizes the visitor experience, but also increases potential for the educational value of the visit. Chair: Mary Kay Cunningham, Independent Interpretive Specialist, Portland, OR Panelists: Judith Koke, Visitor Studies, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO Jim Covel, Interpretive Program Manager, Monterey Bay Aquarium, Monterey, CA Wendy Abelmann, Education Director, Museum of Art & History, Santa Cruz, CA
Challenges in Museum Education Abroad: Implications for U.S. Museums (COMPT Co-sponsor) Compare and contrast the similarities and differences in museum practices and real-world experiences in different cultural contexts. Case studies will address the processes, goals and objectives, and applications of museum education and museum training in environments where these disciplines are still new -- Argentina, Peru, and Spain - to increase understanding of what makes for effective learning experiences in a museum, and the increasing demands of museum professionals in addressing these challenges. See how museum professionals in these countries are learning from the impact of museum education practices in the U.S. and implementing ways to provide a deeper understanding of visitor's experiences. Chair: Maria Cossu, Consultant, World Bank Art Program, Washington, DC Panelists: Cecilia Alayza, Director, Union Latina Magdalena Mieri, Programs Manager, Smithsonian Center for Latino Initiatives, Washington, DC Carla Padró, Assistant Professor, Department of Art Education University of Barcelona, Barcelona |