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Guidelines
for College and University Galleries and Museums
Adopted by the Southeastern College Art Conference at the 2000
Annual Meeting, Louisville, KY, October 2000, and amended
at the Annual Meeting in Jacksonville, FL in October 2004.
Context
College and university art galleries and museums exist in a wide
variety of forms. They often focus exclusively on art, but also
can include other disciplines such as anthropology, history and
science. Some solely mount exhibitions while others also collect
objects. They can be found as independent entities within the academic
setting, or as a part of a department or departments. Although some
schools have clearly delineated policies and procedures regarding
museums and galleries, some do not. The purpose of this document
is to establish a framework that can be used by institutions, regardless
of their configuration, to formalize their gallery and museum policies.
In order to accommodate the wide range of forms which galleries
and museums take, these guidelines have been designed to be flexible.
Specifically, they include the questions that colleges and universities
need to address in order to establish relevant policies to determine
appropriate staff reporting, and institutional support.
Job descriptions for directors and other museum staff need to include
the reporting procedure, qualifications, and position status (faculty/staff).
The mission statement needs to specify where the gallery/museum
fits within the university/college structure, who the audience is,
what kinds of exhibits are scheduled, and collection parameters.
Although responses will vary, the answers to the following additional
questions will help define how the museum/gallery is structured
and governed. Who has authority for selecting exhibitions? Is there
an exhibitions committee/advisory committee? Are there any barriers
to what the gallery can do or the kinds of art it can show? Is there
an adequate budget? What kind of staff support is there?
Through the process of answering these questions and devising these
policies, college and university galleries and museums can create
a blueprint to guide directors in contributing fully to the aesthetic
and intellectual growth of their audiences.
Hiring Procedures for College and University Galleries and Museums
Hiring procedures for various staff positions will vary considerably
depending on the complexities of college or university gallery/museum
structures. Some galleries may be administered through art department
staffing; some are independent of an academic department, but may
fall under the authority of a Dean, Provost, or Vice President.
Some galleries/museums require large specialized staffs; others
may have only one part-time staff member who may have the responsibilities
of Director, Curator, Registrar, et al. Some galleries/museums have
collections that require registration expertise, while others may
not have collections - they mount exhibitions only. Because of this
variety, staff qualifications will vary from institution to institution.
The gallery/museum staff members should be granted rank and status
equal to those of other professionals with equivalent educational
credentials and responsibilities within the institution.
This includes equivalent salary levels, eligibility for promotion
and tenure (if the position is adjunct to a tenure-track faculty
line), participation in college or university governance, retirement,
and other benefits. If academic status for gallery/museum professionals
does not exist within the university or college, every effort should
be made to reach salary parity with faculty or other staff positions
within the university. For example, a museum director should have
parity with academic administrators who have similar levels of responsibility;
a curator should have parity with academic professors.
Listings for gallery and museum positions are often placed in the
following publications: AAM Aviso, CAA Careers, the Chronicle of
Higher Education, and professional organization websites.
At some institutions the positions within the gallery/museum might
result from the reassignment of faculty from teaching responsibilities.
When such reassignments occur, and new positions are not created,
no job search process is necessary to fill gallery/museum assignments.
If positions exist or are created specifically to staff a gallery/museum,
then detailed information concerning position responsibilities should
be supplied to any job candidate requesting such material. This
information should include:
1. A detailed description for the position including its ranking
and reporting structure within the department and institution;
2. A description of the gallery/museum facilities;
3. A brief statement of the gallery/museum mission or philosophy
with a current and/or past exhibition schedule(s);
4. A description of the current staffing - permanent and student
(if applicable) - in the gallery/museum, including the average number
of hours per week each employee typically works;
5. An explanation of benefits, salary range, and the availability
of support for professional development;
6. A brief description of the procedures, evaluation processes,
and anticipated timetables used in making decisions about professional
advancement.
Standard institutional hiring procedures should be followed. If
possible, the top-ranking candidates should be invited to the institution,
and be provided an opportunity to evaluate the facilities, meet
the staff, talk with the faculty, students and other professionals
in the institution with whom the candidate would frequently interact,
review the benefits package, and meet with administrators concerning
the direction and future of the gallery/museum.
Job Descriptions
Academic institutions should provide an accurate job description
for each gallery or museum position. All matters regarding reporting
structures, renewal, retention, pay raise policies, promotion (if
applicable to the position), and eligibility for tenure (if applicable)
should be made clear in a letter of expectation to all professional
staff.
Reporting Procedures
Depending on the complexity of the organizational structure of the
gallery/museum, reporting procedures will vary. For gallery/museums
whose missions are to serve the university community, the region,
and with sizeable permanent collections; or galleries/museums that
offer professionally curated exhibitions, a gallery/museum director
would normally report to a dean, provost or university vice president.
Smaller, less complex galleries, whose missions are primarily to
serve as service units by exhibiting works by faculty and students
within art departments might have directors who report to an art
department chair.
Professional Development
It is important to provide opportunities for gallery/museum staff
members to participate actively in the activities of relevant local,
regional, and national professional organizations such as the College
Art Association (CAA), the American Association of Museums (AAM),
the Mid-America College Art Association (MACAA), Southeastern College
Art Conference (SECAC), etc. They should be encouraged to attend
conferences and relevant workshops, engage in research, etc. Where
the possibilities of teaching, writing, and publishing exist, the
appropriate staff should be encouraged to do so. Institutional support
for these activities is essential and should be equivalent to that
which is available for other similar professionals in the same institution.
Annual Review and Advancement
The museum/gallery director and staff should be reviewed on an annual
basis, preferably through conferences between the appropriate administrators
and the employee. The evaluation criteria shall be equivalent to
those of other professional positions in the institution. At minimum
they should take into consideration sound job performance, evidence
of professional development, and potential for growth. Evidence
of appropriate professional activities within the institution, regionally,
and nationally should also be included in the evaluation. The museum/gallery
director and staff under review should be provided with a written
copy of the reviewer's comments for their records.
At the time of the original appointment, a tentative date should
be set for consideration for promotion (if applicable to the position)
based on a performance review which allows at least one year in
the initial rank for promotion.
Evaluation and Review Procedures for Gallery/Museum
College or university galleries and museums should be evaluated.
Reviews should be based upon a standard set of criteria in accordance
with the guidelines and procedures used to evaluate other units
within the institution (such as academic departments). Such criteria
may be used for either external reviews conducted by accrediting
agencies or internal reviews conducted by the institution for the
purpose of self-evaluation. In either case, it is recommended that
a self-evaluation of the gallery or museum, undertaken by the staff
members who manage it, precede the actual review. The staff person
in charge of the gallery or museum should be the chief contact person
for all reviews.
Staffing
Staffing for a museum/gallery will be dependent on such factors
as the size of the institution, the level of financial support,
and the extent of the collection (if any). Sufficient support staff
with the appropriate qualifications should be provided. Ideally,
galleries and museums with collections require a curator, curator
of education, curator of collections, registrar, and preparator
or exhibition designer.
Director
At least an M.A. or M.F.A. in art history, studio art, museum studies,
or arts administration is normally required. Positions that are
tenure track may require a terminal degree in one's field of study.
Actual experience in managing an arts organization could be considered
in lieu of degree qualifications. Significant experience in an art
museum or an art gallery with a working knowledge of operational
procedures is also recommended.
Depending on such factors as the size of the institution, the level
of financial support, and the extent of the collection (if any),
the responsibilities of a gallery/museum director may require some
teaching as well as administrative duties. A gallery or museum director
whose job description includes teaching should not be expected to
teach a full course load at the institution.
The
qualifications expected for a director may range considerably from
one institution to another depending upon the responsibilities required.
For example, at some institutions the director is responsible for
meeting with advisory committees, planning exhibition schedules,
and meeting with museum/gallery members, sponsors and university
administrators. At other institutions some of these functions are
assigned to other gallery/museum staff. In either case, the director
should have a thorough understanding of all gallery/museum functions
whether they are personally undertaken or delegated to others.
Gallery/museum directors should not be expected to raise funds for
staff salaries, even if fund raising for the gallery/museum is part
of the job description. Those institutions that encourage the director
to raise money for the gallery or museum should provide access to
the institution's development unit, or should make serious efforts
to establish a line for a part-time or free-lance development person
to assist in fund raising efforts.
Curator
At least an M.A. in art history, museum studies, studio art, or
relevant field. Evidence of research and writing skills. Actual
curatorial experience or other relevant gallery/museum experience
could be considered in lieu of degree qualifications.
Curator
of Collections/Collections Manager
At least an M.A. in art history, museum studies, studio art, or
relevant field. Actual curatorial research and writing or relevant
gallery/museum experience could be considered in lieu of degree
qualifications.
Registrar
At least a B.A. in art history, museum studies, studio art, library
science, or relevant field. Actual registration experience or educational
background in fields requiring cataloging could be considered in
lieu of degree qualifications.
Curator
of Education
At least a B.A. in art history, art education, or related field.
Evidence of research, writing and public speaking skills. Actual
curatorial experience or other relevant gallery/museum experience
could be considered in lieu of degree qualifications.
Preparator
At least a B.A. in studio art, museum studies, or equivalent combination
of education and experience.
Exhibition
Designer/Graphic Designer
At least a B.A. in studio art, design, or related field, or equivalent
combination of education and experience.
Students
A variety of jobs can be completed by interns, work-study students,
or students taking classes for experiential course credit. As with
the professional positions, there should be a detailed job description.
Respectfully
submitted by the SECAC Committee to Establish Guidelines for College
and University Galleries, October 2000
Marina Pacini, Chair, Rhodes College; Steve Arbury, Radford University,
Gylbert Coker, Florida A&M University; ;Arthur Jones, Radford
University, Sam Yates, University of Tennessee
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