Southern Alleghenies is re-accredited by a museum group

Jan. 19—JOHNSTOWN, Pa. — Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art has earned reaccreditation from The American Alliance of Museums, the highest honor from the only organization representing the entire scope of the museum community.

Only 1 of the 33,000 museums in the United States have been accredited.

There are 35 institutions in Pennsylvania that have this achievement.

Michael Strueber (SAMA’s director emeritus) said that SAMA was first accredited nationally in 1996.

He said that they were the first American art museum to be accredited for being an institution that was not designed as a museum or started with a collection. “This is the fourth consecutive time that SAMA has been accredited nationally, and it’s huge. Now, the museum will only need to do it once every 10 years.

AAM has been a champion of museums since 1906. They provide museum professionals with the knowledge, inspiration, and connections they need in order to make the field a better place.

AAM accreditation is the highest standard in museum excellence and has been for more than 50 years. It signifies that a museum’s quality, credibility, and reliability to all museums, governments, and other agencies, as well as to the general public.

The accreditation program is designed to protect the integrity of museum collections and encourage good governance and ethical behavior.

Strueber stated, “Rural museums are nearly nonexistent in the United States, but this accreditation is the same as that The Metropolitan Museum of Art (and the Carnegie Museum of Art) receive.” It is a nationally and internationally recognised distinction.

Museums have been assessed and reviewed by peers to ensure they are upholding standards and best practices. They are also educational entities that are responsible for the care of the resources and collections they hold in public trust.

A museum must submit a self-study questionnaire along with key operational documents to be evaluated in order to earn accreditation. Then, it is subjected to a site inspection by a team of two peer reviewers, which results in a report for accreditation.

Reaccreditation takes a year and involves analyzing and evaluating every aspect of museum operations, scholarship, and conservation efforts.

SAMA’s staff, board of trustees, and SAMA’s board of directors have collaborated with AAM over the past two-years to present the museum’s strategic plan, operating procedure, and hundreds of pages of reports.

Strueber stated that “This is something everyone can be proud about and what SAMA developed.” “The museum is home to one of Pennsylvania’s best education programs, with 16 districts. The museum’s outreach is amazing, its exhibition calendar is fantastic, and the permanent collection now contains 7,000 pieces.

Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art maintains facilities in Altoona (Bedford), Ligonier, Johnstown, Loretto, and Johnstown.

Visit www.amazon.com for more information www.sama-art.org.