New Directions for University Museums

Brad King, PhD

Rowman & Littlefield

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New Directions for University Museums is intended to help university museum leaders plan strategically in the context of the issues and needs of the 2020s by examining trends affecting them and directions in response to those forces. It will lay out a series of potential directions for university museums in the 21st century using examples from the field. Within this general approach, there are a number of questions that the book addresses:

What are the expectations of university museums in the 21st century from their key stakeholders – university administrations, faculties and students, and the communities in which they are embedded? How are those expectations changing and how are the museums evolving to meet them?
How are university museums navigating the minefields of political polarization, “cancel culture” or heightened activism on campus and in society at large?
What is the nature of the relationship between the university’s research and teaching mission and the university museum? What trends can we identify, and how can we help the university museum director navigate those trends?
The university-donor relationship: what can we learn from a study of donor expectations and the dynamics of universitydonor relationships in contemporary society?
How is the relationship between the university museum and the broader external community changing? How is the university museum contributing to (or detracting from) the overall relationship between the university and the community?
What role is the university museum playing in terms of public communication of research, especially public science communication?

This book is for all those who work in, benefit from or are interested in university museums.

Our work with university museums

About The Author

Brad King is Vice President for Strategy with Lord Cultural Resources, an international museum and cultural planning firm. Based in Toronto, he has led or contributed to more than 250 museum planning projects in over 15 countries since joining Lord in 2000, including many university and academic museums. Brad holds a Ph.D. in History from the University of Toronto and is the author of chapters in The Manual of Museum Learning (1st ed., 2007) and The Manual of Museum Planning (3rd ed., 2012: Chapter 5, “Understanding Collections”) and is co-editor of The Manual of Museum Learning (2nd ed. 2016).

"This edited volume offers a fascinating look at the unique challenges and opportunities facing university museums. The role of the university museum has changed significantly just over the past few decades, and the authors here clearly demonstrate how today's university museums are uniquely positioned to effect positive change in their home institutions, their local communities, and beyond. Throughout the volume, the authors provide useful insights that will help museum professionals improve their understanding of the value, place, and significance of university museums, and help university leaders adapt to the constantly changing socio-economic and political realities facing university museums worldwide."

Paul F. Marty Ph.D., Professor, School of Information, Florida State University
"New Directions for University Museums with its reflections on program and collection innovation and experimentation is a reminder of the potential, power, and responsibility of university museums, a sector sometimes overlooked within the cultural and visual arts milieu. It is a valuable resource for museum directors, planners, and senior university staff, especially those wishing to initiate change within their museums, and for students and future cultural leaders to interrogate."

David Ellis, Artist Profile