AAMG organizes and/or cosponsors educational conferences, seminars and lectures for museum and gallery directors and administrators who work at colleges and universities.

Academic Museums and Galleries will be regarded as central components of higher education – as essen

Goal One: To establish opportunities for current and future members to engage and learn from each other and related experts, share insights and challenges, and explore professional and career development.

Goal Two: To establish and disseminate AAMG-endorsed guidelines for the activities and obligations of an academic museum, gallery, or collection, as well as for the professionals, volunteers, and governance.

Goal Three: To develop systems, structures, and financial opportunities for sustaining AAMG operations and effectiveness. To attract and retain more members across a greater diversity of museums.

The entire AAMG board engaged in virtual DEI training through Campus Labs in 2020.

For thirty-five years, the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries has flourished as the only national organization dedicated to supporting academic museums, galleries, and collections* and the people committed to their success. AAMG’s membership, capacity, and impact have grown dramatically, particularly over the past half-dozen years. Among its accomplishments, this all-volunteer organization has received 501(c)3 status; produced a comprehensive and broadly accepted set of professional standards that accelerate the wise stewardship and use of our irreplaceable cultural and educational assets; increased the attendance, duration, and programmatic offerings of the annual conference; and become a respected voice for the field. These and other activities align with AAMG’s ongoing ambition and imperative to be the leading proponent and resource for our members and others in the field. Concurrent with AAMG’s growth, the higher education field has faced significant pressures from economic, demographic, and value-driven forces. In response, many campuses have actively highlighted their academic museums as integral elements of education, prominently integrating them into the mission and identity of their parent schools. These same pressures, however, are placing many academic museums and collections at risk of being under-resourced and, in more dire circumstances, mismanaged or misappropriated. The tens of thousands of museum-based academic professionals (as well as their advocates, governance structures, and institutions) need more than ever the continuing guidance, resources, and engagement that AAMG strives to provide. Consequently, AAMG’s 2022–25 strategy intends to strengthen the professionalism, educational and scholarly contributions, and overall impact of the academic museum field, within the academy and throughout the larger community. It also aims to strengthen AAMG’s position as the leading national organization representing academic museums.