Hill-Stead Museum Awarded Re-Accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums

Hill-Stead Museum Receives Highest National Recognition

Hill-Stead Museum has again achieved accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums, the highest national recognition afforded the nation’s museums. Accreditation signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public. All museums must undergo a reaccreditation review at least every 10 years to maintain accredited status.
Alliance Accreditation brings national recognition to a museum for its commitment to excellence, accountability, high professional standards and continued institutional improvement. Developed and sustained by museum professionals for over 45 years, the Alliance’s museum accreditation program is the field’s primary vehicle for quality assurance, self-regulation and public accountability. It strengthens the museum profession by promoting practices that enable leaders to make informed decisions, allocate resources wisely, and remain financially and ethically accountable in order to provide the best possible service to the public.

Susan Ballek, the museum’s Executive Director and CEO, remarked: “Hill-Stead is abundantly proud to be counted among the elite group of museums who meet the rigorous standards for best practices set forth by the American Alliance of Museums. The museum’s Trustees, Board of Governors and staff are dedicated to preserving and sharing Hill-Stead’s rich collection of French Impressionist paintings and decorative arts objects with the public in perpetuity. The guidelines set forth by the Alliance ensure we are taking the right measures to care for our collection and engage our members, donors and community, ensuring this National Historic Landmark will remain a place for learning, reflection and enjoyment for people of all ages and backgrounds.”

Of the nation’s estimated 33,000 museums, over 1,070 are currently accredited. Hill-Stead is one of only 19 museums accredited in Connecticut.

Accreditation is a very rigorous but highly rewarding process that examines all aspects of a museum’s operations. To earn accreditation a museum first must conduct a year of self-study and then undergo a site visit by a team of peer reviewers. AAM’s Accreditation Commission, an independent and autonomous body of museum professionals, considers the self-study and visiting committee report to determine whether a museum should receive accreditation.

“Accredited museums are a community of institutions that have chosen to hold themselves publicly accountable to excellence,” said Laura L. Lott, Alliance president and CEO. “Accreditation is clearly a significant achievement, of which both the institutions and the communities they serve can be extremely proud.”

About the American Alliance of Museums

The American Alliance of Museums has been bringing museums together since 1906, helping to develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the entire museum community. Representing more than 35,000 individual museum professionals and volunteers, institutions, and corporate partners serving the museum field, the Alliance stands for the broad scope of the museum community. For more information, visit www.aam-us.org.