Museum of Texas Tech Receives National Accreditation

The Museum of Texas Tech University recently received accreditation by the American Association of Museums (AAM). The designation is held by only 774 of the nation's 17,000 museums. Of those 774 accredited museums only 108 are university or college facilities. "Accreditation acknowledges the commitment by our museum staff to not only maintain a high level of professionalism, but to advance that practice to a higher plane," said Gary Edson, executive director of the museum. "Our accreditation is indicative of the institution-wide commitment to excellence at Texas Tech." The Museum of Texas Tech is an educational, scientific, cultural and research element of the university consisting of the main museum, the Moody Planetarium, the Natural Science Research Laboratory and the Lubbock Lake Landmark. The museum also offers master's level degrees in museum science and heritage management and a wide variety of educational program for the general public. "We're pleased to be in such select company," said James E. Brink, associate vice provost for Heritage Consortium, which has oversight of the Museum. "The AAM recognition is the result of continuous quality of our entire staff, who bring internationally renowned exhibits to the museum and who conduct research and train and educate the next generation of museum directors and curators." AAM accreditation is recognition of a museum's quality and commitment to accountability. Accreditation is a rigorous process involving a major investment of time and resources from all levels of the museum staff. The accreditation application can take months of intensive work and includes a site visit by an AAM team of evaluators. "Accreditation is the highest national peer recognition achievable by museums," said Ford W. Bell, AAM president. "As a purely self-motivated initiative, accreditation illustrates a museum's dedication to overall excellence. The people of Lubbock and of Texas Tech can be proud that their museum is one of the finest in the country." This is the third consecutive accreditation award for the Texas Tech museum. The museum first earned accreditation in 1990 and again in 1998. The latest accreditation is good for 10 years. "Texas Tech has an outstanding museum," said Guy Bailey, president of Texas Tech. "The museum provides exceptional educational opportunities for the community. And it is a true example of interdisciplinary collaboration. From the sciences to the fine arts, researchers and professors from across the campus contribute to the museum and it in turn provides marvelous research and learning opportunities for our faculty and our students." The AAM accreditation is the second time this year a major organization has recognized the Museum of Texas Tech's excellence. In June, the museum received an exemplary certification from the Texas Historical Commission's Curatorial Facility Certification Program. Exemplary certification is awarded when the commission finds no deficiencies or disabling factors in a museum's ability to collect and store state-owned artifacts. The Texas Tech museum is the first facility to receive no deficiencies finding since the inception of the program. The Museum of Texas Tech University is located at Fourth Street and Indiana Avenue, on the university campus. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, until 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, and 1-5 p.m. on Sunday. The museum is closed on Monday. Stay current on museum exhibitions and events at www.museum.ttu.edu. CONTACT: David Dean, director of museum information services, (806) 742-2442 or via e-mail at david.dean@ttu.edu.