FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

March 12, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C.—The American Alliance of Museums has announced that eight museums earned reaccreditation at the February 9, 2015 meeting of the Accreditation Commission. Accredited status from the Alliance 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 responsibilities. Developed and sustained by museum professionals for over 40 years, the museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation and public accountability.  Alliance accreditation signifies excellence and credibility to the entire museum community, to governments and outside agencies and to the museum-going public.

“Accredited museums have met and exceeded the highest standards of the museum field, in everything they do,” said Ford W. Bell, Alliance president. “Accreditation is clearly a significant achievement, of which both the institutions and the communities they serve can be extremely proud.”

This group of accredited museums is representative of the diversity of America’s museums. It includes large and small museums focused on maritime history, art, natural history, and state and local history, with governance types ranging from private non-profit, to university, to government.

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The following museums were awarded reaccreditation:

• Albany Institute of History and Art, Albany, NY
• Chicago History Museum
• Dallas Museum of Art
• Independence Seaport Museum, Philadelphia
• Kentucky Historical Society, Frankfurt
• National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
• Taubman Museum of Art, Roanoke, VA
• Ulrich Museum of Art, Wichita, KS

Of the nation’s estimated 17,500 museums, 1,048 are currently accredited. To earn accreditation a museum first must conduct a year of self-study, and then undergo a site visit by a two-person team of peers. The Accreditation Commission then 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, please 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. With more than 18,000 individual, 3,000 institutional and 300 corporate members, the Alliance 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.