Art museum chosen to join federal assessment program

The Radford University Art Museum has been selected to participate in MAP, a program funded by the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services to promote the highest professional standards in the field.

MAP—the Museum Assessment Program—uses guided self-study and onsite consultation with museum professionals to empower museums to better serve their communities. The 30-year-old program is administered by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), a century-old organization representing the nation’s entire museum community.

MAP advances best practices and fosters improvement in museums. It is a self-motivated program; each local institution initiates application to and participation in MAP, and those accepted invest their own human and institutional resources into the assessment.

The RU museum's assessment will concentrate on collections stewardship. The assessment team, headed by Professor Steve Arbury, the museum's director, includes art museum Registrar Kim Cochran, graduate assistant Kala Marshall and Department of Art faculty members Drew Dodson, Leah Gose, Eloise Philpot and Ken Smith. The peer reviewer will be Susan Lucke from the art museum at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

"This MAP assessment should further strengthen the art museum’s commitment to advancing the quality of its collection and provide more meaningful exhibitions for its patrons from the university and surrounding communities," Arbury said.

MAP is a confidential process of self-study, peer review and implementation. Museums use the assessment process to strengthen operations, build capacity and enhance communication throughout the organization and community. Since its creation in 1981, the MAP program has served more than 4,300 museums.

To learn more about the Radford University Art Museum, visit its website or contact Arbury at sarbury@radford.edu.

Mar 5, 2013
Dan Waidelich
(540) 831-7749
dwaidelich@radford.edu