Position Announcement: Curator of Education, Maxwell Museum of Anthropology, University of New Mexico

The Maxwell Museum of Anthropology at the University of New Mexico seeks a Curator of Education to coordinate and oversee the Museum’s wide-ranging educational programs, with a particular focus on K-12 outreach and engagement. The Maxwell Museum is a dynamic center of anthropological research and public engagement on the University of New Mexico campus, producing numerous in-person and virtual exhibitions and public and educational programs annually. Based in a culturally diverse state and region, the Museum hosts thousands of K-12 visitors per year, supported in part by an Adopt A Bus program for Title 1 schools. The successful candidate will join a dedicated team of museum professionals committed to serving and expanding our diverse audiences and will work with a variety of partners to develop and support educational programs that align with the Museum’s mission of “working toward greater understandings of the fullness of human experiences in the Southwest and the world” and vision of “reconciling injustices, restoring voices, and realizing community.”

We seek an experienced, creative, and forward-thinking museum educator to conceive and implement educational programs. The Curator of Education will serve as the principal liaison for the Museum to families, K-12 educators and students, schools, and community partners in the greater Albuquerque region and throughout the state. The Curator of Education will develop and coordinate the Museum’s robust array of current educational programs, including but not limited to school tours, family days, summer camp, check-out kits, and traveling trunk programs. With other Museum staff, the Curator of Education will lead efforts to continuously evaluate and improve the Museum’s educational offerings, modifying existing ones and developing new ones in response to community needs and interests and in alignment with the Museum’s mission and vision. They will provide opportunities for UNM students in anthropology, museum studies, education, and other programs to gain experience and participate in the development and implementation of educational programs in an informal learning museum context. They will train and oversee an active docent program and assist in fundraising to support educational programs.

Duties and Responsibilities

  1. Develop, refine, promote, implement, and assess educational programming related to the Museum’s exhibits, collections, and mission using a variety of delivery methods that serve New Mexico’s diverse communities. These can include, but are not limited to, guided school and group tours, virtual field trips and programs, in-school programs, family days, summer camps, check-out kits, a traveling trunk program, and online educational content.
  2. Work closely with Head of Interpretation and Curator of Exhibition and other museum staff in the development and implementation of educational programming to support and enhance new exhibits and special events.
  3. Promote and coordinate the Museum’s Adopt-A-Bus program for Title 1 Schools; represent the museum in community and regional educational collaborations.
  4. Document, collect, review, and report evaluations of educational programs and use those evaluations in ongoing efforts to strengthen the Museum’s educational offerings.
  5. Recruit, train, coordinate, and supervise volunteer and student docents and student employees.
  6. Manage the teaching collection and materials that support educational programs.
  7. Prepare and monitor budgets; write and/or facilitate proposal preparation for external funding for educational programs; identify and secure alternative funding/revenue sources to support educational programs.
  8. Mentor University students in anthropology, museum studies, education, and related disciplines; may occasionally guest lecture in University classes.
  9. Performs miscellaneous job-related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree in museum studies, anthropology, education, or closely related field; at least 5 years of experience directly related to the duties and responsibilities specified.
  • Completed degree(s) from an accredited institution that are above the minimum education requirement may be substituted for experience on a year for year basis.

Preferred Qualifications

  • Master’s degree in museum studies, anthropology, or education
  • Background in four-field anthropology, including human evolution and past and present cultures of the U.S. Southwest
  • Knowledge of and demonstrated engagement with Indigenous cultures and communities of the Southwest and/or beyond
  • Demonstrated background and experience in informal science and/or arts education.
  • Familiarity with national, state, and local standards at the K-12 level.
  • Demonstrated knowledge and experience of museum principles, objectives, and practices
  • Demonstrated experience in creating, planning, organizing, coordinating and implementing diverse educational programs at the pre K-12 in museum or informal learning contexts
  • Strong interpersonal and communication skills and the ability to work effectively with the public and a wide range of colleagues and constituencies in a diverse community.
  • Proven ability to create, compose, and edit written materials; ability to gather data, compile information, and prepare reports.
  • Demonstrated record of success in developing, planning, prioritizing, implementing and evaluating short-and long-range goals, meeting deadlines, and developing project budgets and projections.
  • Experience in recruiting, training, supervising, and motivating student employees and volunteers within area of specialty.
  • Experience with Adobe and Microsoft Suite; web and social media experience a plus.

Working Conditions and Physical Effort

  • Moderate physical activity. Requires handling of average-weight objects up to 25 pounds or standing and/or walking for more than four (4) hours per day.
  • No or very limited exposure to physical risk.
  • Work is normally performed in a typical interior/office work environment.
  • Must be available to work occasional weekend or evening hours.

Position Announcement: Assistant or Associate Professor/Director of Museum of Anthropology, Department of Anthropology at Washington State University

The Department of Anthropology at Washington State University (WSU) seeks to hire an archaeological scholar with an active, North American research program and the experience necessary to simultaneously serve as the Director of our Museum of Anthropology. This is a permanent, nine-month, full-time, tenure-track position at the Assistant or Associate Professor level. It is anticipated that the successful candidate will begin the appointment on August 16, 2023.

Given the needs of the department, the Museum of Anthropology, the institution, and its constituencies, the research profile for our ideal candidate is a theoretically-driven scholar of North American archaeology (focus on western North America preferred) who engages, or has the potential to engage, meaningfully with Indigenous communities and a variety of other stakeholders. The ideal candidate will have regional, methodological and/or ideological foci that complement and expand those of existing faculty members within the Department of Anthropology. The successful candidate will serve also as the Director of the Museum of Anthropology. The initial administrative appointment as director will be for three (3) years and is renewable upon successful performance. The appointment distribution for the position is 45% research and scholarship, 25% teaching and student mentorship, 5% service, and 25% museum administration, with a typical course load of 1 course per semester.

Responsibilities include: (1) maintaining an active, grant-supported program of archaeological scholarship in North America (western North America preferred); (2) overseeing regular museum operations and developing a vision and direction of the Museum of Anthropology that ensures robust and proactive compliance with federal and state regulations related to collections, including communication and engagement with regional tribes and communities with ties to the collections curated at WSU and the agencies whose collections we curate; (3) teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in anthropology; (4) recruiting, advising and mentoring graduate and undergraduate students including those who identify with systemically excluded, historically underserved and/or minoritized groups; (5) and providing service to the department, institution, and profession, including outreach to broader communities.

Event Announcement: Platforms and Practices for Activating Community Knowledge Symposium, University of Maryland College of Information Studies

Join the Center for Archival Futures (CAFe) and Recovering and Reusing Archival Data (RRAD) Lab at the University of Maryland College of Information Studies for a virtual research symposium hosted by ASIS&T: “Platforms and Practices for Activating Community Knowledge”

When: Thursday, March 9, 2023 (12:00 PM – 5:00 PM) (EST)

Description: The Center for Archival Futures (CAFe) and Recovering and Reusing Archival Data (RRAD) Lab at the University of Maryland College of Information Studies, warmly invite you to join us for a half-day Symposium hosted by the Association for Information Science and Technology (ASIS&T) on “Platforms and Practices for Activating Community Knowledge”.

The Symposium will feature panels of speakers creating and advancing platforms and practices for collaboration toward gathering, reusing, and activating community knowledge and cultural data. Panelists include scholars and practitioners in library, archive, museum, and data journalism institutions, and communities whose members have been historically marginalized in the cultural heritage record. The symposium will focus on sustainable, equitable, and accessible models for community-led curation, and for mobilizing cultural data to improve community outcomes. The symposium will feature the following two panels, with interspersed opportunities for synthesis, discussion, and interaction between speakers and the audience:

1. Models of community and institutional collaboration: This panel will focus on how collaborative data sharing and crowdsourcing methods are used by community-based and NGO-based practitioners in partnership with various institutions to generate new information and data that fills gaps in the historical record. From creating a database of censored books to crowdsourcing Black genealogy and local history, there’s a lot to navigate and lots to learn about community and institutional collaboration.
Featuring presentations on the Marshall Project, AAPI COVID community crowdsourcing, and the Lakeland Community Heritage Project.

  1. Indigenous Data Curation and Knowledge Sharing: How content management systems and metadata infrastructures are being created, tailored, remixed, or repurposed to fit community needs and create more culturally responsive approaches to Indigenous archival and data stewardship.

Featuring presentations on GRASAC, Mukurtu, and Ara Irititja

Register: https://members.asist.org/events/details/research-symposium-platforms-and-practices-for-activating-community-knowledge-850264

 

Call for Applicants: Volunteer Museum Anthropology Blog Manager

Call for Applications: Volunteer Museum Anthropology Blog Manager, Council for Museum Anthropology

The Council for Museum Anthropology (CMA) Communications Committee is looking for a Blog Manager.

In existence for over twelve years, the CMA blog is a leading online resource for museum anthropologists, practitioners, and scholars. The blog circulates job and fellowship opportunities, news from the field, news and reviews about museums and exhibitions, and serves as a venue for public scholarship. As blog manager, your responsibilities will include:

  • Finding and posting relevant job, internship, and fellowship opportunities, as well as information on relevant conferences or workshops.
  • Reading and posting relevant news articles.
  • Publicizing any CMA or AAA announcements in regards to the annual meetings, calls for papers, awards, workshops, etc.
  • At times, working with the communications committee on guest posts.
  • Working as a member of the communications committee at-large and thinking through best communications strategies for the organization.

Though this is a volunteer position, this opportunity offers significant mentorship and professional development opportunities with both the CMA and its parent organization, the American Anthropological Association.

The blog is run via WordPress as part of the larger CMA web platform. WordPress experience is recommended but not required.

For more information or to apply, please email CMA secretary and outgoing blog manager, Lillia McEnaney, council.museumanth@gmail.com. In your application, please include:

  • Name, email, and phone number
  • Any institutional affiliations you hold
  • Areas of specialization or potential interest
  • 500 word description of your interest in the position, and any background you have in communications or social media

Applications are due on March 31, 2023.

Position Announcement: Schiller Family Assistant Curator of Indigenous American Art

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) seeks a dynamic and energetic museum curator to become the inaugural Schiller Family Assistant Curator of Indigenous American Art at one of the world’s finest museums.
VMFA has a longstanding commitment to Virginia’s Indigenous American communities, and recently unveiled signage in the building and on our website acknowledging the presence of indigenous peoples on the land where the museum stands. The Schiller Family Assistant Curator of Indigenous American Art will help shape the museum’s commitment to Indigenous American art and will be responsible for gallery displays, exhibitions, publications, public programs, and research related to VMFA’s growing collection of more than 800 works of art. Reporting to the Curator of American art, this position will also play a key role in the reinstallation of Indigenous American art in the new wing as part of the museum’s upcoming expansion and renovation project.
This is a restricted position gift funded by the Schiller Family.
The anticipated hire date for this position is July 2023.
This is a salaried, faculty exempt position that offers Commonwealth of Virginia employee benefits such as 12 paid holidays, health benefits and more. VMFA staff also enjoy museum benefits like free admission to special exhibitions, previews of special exhibitions, employee pricing for select museum programs and classes, and discounts at Amuse Restaurant, Best Café, and VMFA Shop.
Specific responsibilities include: organize exhibitions with catalogues; build Indigenous American collection through purchases and donor stewardship; maintain regular art rotations; contribute scholarship to the field in the form of publications and presentations at national conferences; work across departments to achieve museum’s strategic plan; develop and update area collection plan; engage with local and regional tribes for acquisitions and educational programming; update records in TMS; work with public, volunteers, and staff in program and educational training; work with American art curators on installations, exhibitions, and programs; and facilitate advancement initiatives, patron development, and grant-writing.
About the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts:
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond, Virginia, is one of the largest comprehensive art museums in the United States. VMFA, which opened in 1936, is a state agency and privately endowed educational institution. Its purpose is to collect, preserve, exhibit and interpret art, and to encourage the study of the arts. Through the Office of Statewide Partnerships program, the museum offers curated exhibitions, arts-related audiovisual programs, symposia, lectures, conferences, and workshops by visual and performing artists. In addition to presenting a wide array of special exhibitions, the museum provides visitors with the opportunity to experience a global collection of art that spans more than 6,000 years. VMFA’s permanent holdings encompass nearly 50,000 artworks, including the largest public collection of Fabergé outside of Russia, the finest collection of Art Nouveau outside of Paris, and one of the nation’s finest collections of American art. VMFA is also home to important collections of Chinese art, English silver, and French Impressionist, Post-Impressionist, British sporting and modern and contemporary art, as well as renowned South Asian, Himalayan and African art. In May 2010, VMFA opened its doors to the public after a transformative expansion, the largest in its history.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts recently began a new expansion and renovation project led by the international architecture firm SmithGroup. Tentatively scheduled for completion in Fall 2027, the project consists of adding a new wing of nearly 170,000 square feet and renovating 45,000 square feet of existing spaces, while maintaining four acres of green space in the Sculpture Garden. Visitors will experience a seamless journey through the collections in the new wing, which will house American and Indigenous American art, African art, 21stcentury art, and a new suite of galleries for rotating special exhibitions and a special events space.
The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is the only art museum in the United States open 365 days a year with free general admission.
Minimum Qualifications
Good communication and organizational skills are necessary for this position, as is the ability to work in a highly collaborative, team-based environment.
Candidates should be able to multitask and work well under pressure to meet deadlines and manage multiple projects concurrently.
Candidates should also have strong public speaking skills and engage with the community, donors, and supporters of the museum.
Preferred Qualifications
A Ph.D. in Art History or a related discipline is preferred, but not required.
Museum experience is preferred, but not required.

Position Announcement: Curatorial Research Assistant, Baltimore Museum of Art

The Baltimore Museum of Art seeks to hire a 16-month, full-time Curatorial Research Assistant to assist in realizing the forthcoming exhibition Survivance: Centering Native Voices through Anti-Colonial Actions (tentative title), an interdisciplinary research project that will culminate in a convening, exhibition catalogue, institutional initiative, and exhibition. This wide-reaching initiative will radically center Native voices and challenge collective understandings of the pivotal role of Native peoples in United States history.

Survivance is scheduled to open at the Baltimore Museum of Art in May 2024. It will engage multiple curatorial departments and be presented in exhibition spaces across the BMA. Through both design and content, the related exhibitions will center Indigenous experiences and perspectives while subordinating Eurocentric and imperial Western structural forms of privilege and bias.

Reporting to the co-organizing curators — Darienne Turner (Yurok Tribe), Assistant Curator of Indigenous Art of the Americas, and Leila Grothe, Associate Curator of Contemporary Art — the primary responsibilities of the incumbent will be exhibition project management and thoughtful community engagement with both the local and national Native community.

Applicants of Indigenous descent are strongly encouraged to apply. The Research Assistant should plan to begin working on-site at the Museum between January–May 2023.

Position Announcement: Exhibit Project Lead, Burke Museum of Natural History & Culture

The Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture is looking for a collaborative and organized creative thinker to join our team as Exhibit Project Lead. This position supports the museum’s commitment to creating visitor-centered experiences that transform the ways our audiences connect with our unique collections, the work of our staff and researchers, and the world around us. The Exhibit Project Lead will work closely with department staff including the Senior Preparator, Content Developer and Director of Interpretation to coordinate and create new exhibit experiences. They will also facilitate collaboration with Burke collection representatives, educators and other museum staff—as well as community members and content advisors—to produce engaging visitor experiences.

Reporting to the Director of Interpretation, key duties of this role include creating and maintaining detailed records of decisions, processes, project plans and budgets. This person will serve as a primary communicator for the Exhibit Department, providing project updates to staff, responding to feedback and leading the interdepartmental Exhibit Selection Committee process to evaluate temporary exhibit proposals. This individual will also serve as an active participant in the exhibit development and design process, collaborating with the exhibit team on goals, content and design for two to three 3,000-sf temporary exhibits and several smaller installations annually. This position does not directly manage staff, but will direct colleagues’ and collaborators’ project-related work to successfully complete projects.

Position Announcement: Supervisory Museum Curator (Assistant Director), National Museum of African American History and Culture

The Assistant Director serves as a member of the curatorial staff for the National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC).  The position specializes in the following specialty programs: political history, social history, civil rights, social justice, community life, domestic life, institutional life, science, education, African American Studies, American Studies, Ethnic Studies, 19th Century American history, 20th century American History or LGBTQ+.

In this position, you will:

  • Conduct research, identify relevant objects, write scripts, and provide leadership.
  • Conduct work which may result in a variety of publicly accessible forms, including gallery exhibitions, online digital exhibitions, books or articles, live public programs, etc.  Correspond with donors, researchers, and colleagues.
  • Contribute to the long-term health of the collection through strategic acquisition and deaccession, collections documentation within a shared data management system and the advancement of public access.
  • Actively participate in professional circles relevant to the museum’s work by regularly giving talks within and outside the museum, consulting, organizing, and participating in workshops and symposia, presenting at major professional conferences and events.  Play a senior leadership role in the institution’s interpretive work, initiating and leading complex projects that shape institutional priorities and approaches.
  • Oversee the establishment of goals, articulation of priorities, development of schedules and checklists, and the assignment of tasks. Formulate goals and priorities to ensure most efficient use of personnel and available funds. Evaluate performance; encourage a team-based approach to project planning and implementation; prepare adverse or disciplinary actions.

More here.

Position Announcement: Tenure-Track Assistant Professor and Museum Curator, The University of Winnipeg

The Department of Anthropology at The University of Winnipeg invites outstanding candidates to apply for a tenure-track appointment at the rank of Assistant Professor in the field of Archaeology, Bioanthropology, Sociocultural Anthropology, or Museology.  The successful candidate will also be appointed as Museum Curator to manage the collections (Archeology, Bioanthropology, Ethnographic, Reference) that are housed in the Department.  Subject to budgetary approval, this position will commence July 1, 2023.  Salary levels will be commensurate with qualifications and experience; exceptional candidates may be considered at other ranks in accordance with the University of Winnipeg Faculty Association Collective Agreement.

Applicants must hold a Ph.D. in Archaeology, Bioanthropology, Sociocultural Anthropology, or Museology at the time of appointment.   The successful applicant will be an effective teacher whose scholarship is grounded in community-engaged practices and methodologies and who has a demonstrated ability to work collaboratively in an interdisciplinary environment.  The position will have split duties – 60% as an Assistant Professor with teaching, research and service commitments, and 40% as Curator of the Anthropology Museum.  The Curator will provide support for researchers and course instructors, who rely on these collections.  The Curator will also be responsible for supervising the Anthropology Museum collections technician.

The successful candidate will teach core undergraduate courses in their area of specialization, and will develop new courses relevant to department needs.  The successful candidate will establish an innovative program of research that has the potential for external research funding and dissemination through publication or research-creation.  In addition, the successful candidate will be expected to participate in Departmental and University service, and to make contributions to the broader community.

More here.

Open CMA Board Positions

The CMA is seeking interested individuals to run for four at-large board seats (two 3-year and two 2-year seats) and a 2-year student seat to begin after the 2023 board meeting held during the annual meeting in Toronto, Canada.

If you are interested, please feel free to reach out to Nominations Committee members Cara Krmpotich (cara.krmpotich@utoronto.ca), Bill Wood (woodw@uwm.edu) or Christina Hodge (christina_hodge@brown.edu) for further information as well as nomination materials.  Completed nomination packets must be received by Cara Krmpotich by Feb 13, 2023.