American Alliance of Museums Accredits DePauw's Galleries & Collections

March 12, 2018

The DePauw University Galleries & Collections has achieved accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums (AAM), the highest national recognition afforded the nation’s museums. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public.

Alliance accreditation brings national recognition to a museum for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards and continued institutional improvement. Developed and sustained by museum professionals for over 45 years, the Alliance’s museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation and public accountability. It strengthens the museum profession by promoting practices that enable leaders to make informed decisions, allocate resources wisely, and remain financially and ethically accountable in order to provide the best possible service to the public.

“Accreditation has been a multi-year process for our small yet dedicated staff,” said Craig Hadley, director and curator of exhibitions and collections. “Our devoted team has proven that small academic museums can operate within the same national standards employed by much larger institutions. We are proud to provide the state of Indiana and Putnam County with a high-quality museum experience, and we will continue to uphold ourselves to the highest professional standards in the industry. Future generations of DePauw students, in particular, will gain invaluable training and first-hand museum experience with an accredited program -- an opportunity available at fewer than 3.5% of all museums nationwide.”

Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, approximately 1,070 are currently accredited. The DePauw University Galleries & Collections is one of only 26 museums accredited in Indiana.

Accreditation is a very rigorous process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations. To earn accreditation a museum first must conduct a year of self-study, and then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. The Alliance’s Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, considers the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation.

“Accredited museums are a community of institutions that have chosen to hold themselves publicly accountable to excellence,” said Laura L. Lott, Alliance president and CEO. “Accreditation is clearly a significant achievement, of which both the institutions and the communities they serve can be extremely proud.”

Displayed at the Richard E. Peeler Art Center and at other locations on campus, the DePauw collection consists of approximately 3,300 fine art and ethnographic objects. Spanning the history of art, the University's holdings are especially strong in Asian art (Japan, China, Korea, Tibet and Nepal); African art; pre- Columbian ceramics; American art of the 19th and 20th centuries; regional art from the late 19th and early 20th centuries; modern and contemporary art; and works on paper, in particular fine art prints and photographs.

The galleries at the Richard E. Peeler Art Center are open Monday-through-Friday from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.; Saturday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m.; and Sunday 1 – 5 p.m., and are closed during University breaks and holidays.  Please visit our website for more information.

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