FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 2, 2016
American Alliance of Museums Announces New Strategic Plan
ARLINGTON, VA–Believing that bold new approaches are needed to tackle the challenges facing the museum field today and in the future, the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) announced today the release of a new strategic plan. The plan builds upon a strong foundation of recent success including a nearly 70 percent increase in museum membership in the Alliance and a reemphasis on boosting and celebrating excellence in the field.
New strategic goals for AAM include expanding thought leadership to inspire and influence innovation in the field and fostering a global exchange of museum practice. The Alliance will prioritize themes related to the financial sustainability of museums, promoting diversity, equity, accessibility and inclusion in all aspects of museum structure and programming and expanding the role of museums in our nation’s evolving P-12 education ecosystem. Greater emphasis will be placed on developing the next generation of museum leadership and strengthening museum governance through support for trustees.
“This new plan focuses the Alliance on goals that advance our mission to champion museums and nurture excellence in partnership with our members and allies,” said Laura L. Lott, AAM president and CEO. “Our vision is a world informed and enriched by thriving museums. We will emphasize topics our members strongly believe are vital to the future viability, relevance and sustainability of museums.”
Alliance board member Dr. John Wetenhall, director of The George Washington University Museum and the Textile Museum, led the board’s working group to develop the plan over the past 18 months. During that process, the board and staff gathered input from more than 500 AAM members and non-members via 30 formal listening sessions. “Having helped to craft both the previous and the new AAM strategic plans, I am pleased that the Alliance is focusing outward,” said Wetenhall. “Our last plan helped AAM strengthen its programs to support more museums during the post-recession era; this new plan promotes relevance and inclusion for even broader impact in the next five years.”
Skip over related stories to continue reading articleKaywin Feldman, Alliance board chair since 2014 and the Duncan and Nivin MacMillan Director and President of the Minneapolis Institute of Art, pushed to ensure that the plan would include bold new goals. “Although the Alliance made great strides over the past five years, this is not the time to rest on our laurels,” Feldman said. “The museum field must tackle many difficult challenges, and the Alliance is leading the way because we’re stronger together.”
More information about AAM’s 2016-2020 Strategic Plan is available at aam-us.org/strategicplan.
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 is the only organization representing the entire scope of the broad museum community. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.
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Press Contact:
Joseph Klem
Phone: 202-218-7670
Email: jklem@aam-us.org
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