UAlberta

University of Alberta Museums First to Receive Province-Wide Recognition

The University of Alberta Museums receives provincial accreditation as a Recognized Museum Leader from the Alberta Museums Association (AMA).

  • 7 June 2021
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Specimens from the Museum of Zoology's Ornithology Collection

The University of Alberta Museums is the first institution in Alberta to receive the new Recognized Museum Leader designation from the Alberta Museums Association (AMA).

The University of Alberta is one of the largest collecting institutions in Canada. With 29 registered museum collections distributed across campus and millions of museum objects, the University of Alberta Museums is a unique system that is integral to the University of Alberta’s academic mission. The University of Alberta Museums unit is a central leadership team of museum professionals. This unit provides museum advisory services in all areas of museum practice for registered museum collections and for University of Alberta and community. It also administers the campus-wide Museums and Collections Policy that is accountable to provincial, federal, and international laws and museum regulations.

In earning this designation, the University of Alberta Museums demonstrates that it is committed to being a leader in museum standards of professional practice in areas such as collections management and community engagement. In being a Recognized Museums Leader it means the University of Alberta Museums will continue to play a strong and important role within the campus community and beyond. 

“It was a conscious decision for us at the University of Alberta Museums to apply for the Leader accreditation for the Recognized Museum Programs,” says Frannie Blondheim, Associate / Interim Director for the University of Alberta Museums. “Our entire unit has always been dedicated to meeting and exceeding museum practices within our network on campus and being a role model for our museum and university communities.”

The Recognized Museum Program (RMP) is an accreditation program managed by the Alberta Museums Association that identifies those museums and related sites in Alberta that meet professional standards for best practices. A full listing of the over 100 Recognized Museums in Alberta is available at www.museums.ab.ca.

Participation in RMP is voluntary and demonstrates the institution meets its mandate through standard practices in areas aligning with the AMA’s Definition of a Museum: non-profit making, permanent, in service to society, open to the public, acquires, conserves, researches, communicates, and exhibits. The Recognized Museum Leader designation is valid for eight years.

The University of Alberta has a long tradition of collecting on campus and all museum objects are used to create new knowledge. Collections are accessed by students, faculty, researchers, and the community through classes, online platforms, and exhibitions.