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A record number of UCSB students are participating in the restoration, education, and museum science internship program. |
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In 2007, CCBER was awarded a Museum Assessment Program (MAP) grant from the American Association of Museums (AAM). |
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Jennifer Thorsch |
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CCBER continues to flourish! A record number of UCSB students are participating in the restoration, education, and museum science internship program; several new restoration projects are underway; we have launched a new course, Biodiversity and Ecological Restoration: Education Practicum; and last month we participated in an external review which focused on CCBER’s museum collections and attaining excellence in operations and planning through a process of self-study and peer review. In 2007, CCBER was awarded a Museum Assessment Program (MAP) grant from the American Association of Museums (AAM). MAP is one program of the Department of Museum Advancement & Excellence at AAM.
The MAP assessment is comprised of three phases—self-study, peer review, and implementation. In November 2008, CCBER completed the self-study phase, which is designed to guide the museum through an evaluation process assessing current strengths and weaknesses in collections management and general operations. The completed self-study notebook contains important institutional records and valuable planning documents, which serve as a baseline against which progress will be measured. Phase two involves the peer review component. A MAP surveyor conducts a site visit and, in collaboration with CCBER, writes an assessment report.
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We were very fortunate to have John Simmons as the surveyor for CCBER’s museum collections. Simmons has served as the Collection Manager at the Natural History Museum & Biodiversity Research Center and Director of the Museum Studies Program at the University of Kansas for many years. He currently owns a consulting company, MUSEOLOGICA, specializing in museum collections care and management, policy development, professional training, grant writing and natural history collections.
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MAP surveyor and herpetologist John Simmons
holds a gopher snake during his visit to CCBER.
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The role of the surveyor is to provide an objective perspective and expertise relevant to CCBER’s needs. Simmons helped us to explore our organization from a fresh point of view, examined operations in light of current standards and best practices, and shared models and resources for recommended changes. The final phase—implementation—will begin as soon as our funding and staffing permit. Having completed the MAP assessment, CCBER will be eligible to apply for funding to implement the recommendations included in the assessment report.
I encourage you to read more about the other interesting developments at CCBER in this issue of The Nature Press. |
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