(Flagstaff, Ariz.)—The Accreditation Commission of the American Association of Museums has withdrawn the accreditation of the Museum of Northern Arizona, the Museum disclosed today. The action by the Commission was taken in response to allegations that the former board of the Museum had improperly sold twenty-one items from the Museum’s collections in April 2002 and that money raised from the sale was used for operating expenses, which violates AAM guidelines.
The AAM action was based solely on the sale of the objects from the Museum’s collections. The Accreditation Commission, in its findings, noted that circumstances of the sale violated standard museum practices as well as the Museum’s own policies and procedures. In withdrawing the accreditation, the Commission acknowledged the Museum’s cooperation with the AAM investigation of the allegations and recognized a new board and director have replaced the board and director that approved the sale. “We do not intend this decision to penalize the current staff and governing authority for the actions of the former leadership. This action is not a judgment of the Museum’s current governance and administration, but of the institutional conduct of the Museum while under accredited status,” said the Accreditation Commission.
In response to a petition drive by the Museum’s members to remove the former board and a complaint from Museum members to the AAM in July 2003, the members of the former board resigned on July 26, 2003 and were replaced by a new board elected by the Museum membership. The new board conducted a search for a new director and selected Dr. Robert G. Breunig for the position in October 2003. Dr. Breunig officially began working as the Museum’s director on December 6, 2003.
“While we are disappointed by the loss of accreditation,” stated Breunig, “the current board and administration of the Museum of Northern Arizona intends to operate the Museum by the standards of an accredited institution, utilizing the best practices of the professional museum community. In addition, the Museum board has resolved to seek reaccreditation at the earliest possible time. We will work closely with the AAM to achieve that end.”
Susie Garretson, Chair of the Museum’s Board of Trustees said, “This action by the Commission validates the seriousness of the concerns raised by the Museum and community members this past summer that led to the resignation of the former board and administration. The new board is a membership based board and has received tremendous support from both Museum members and the community towards restoring the institution to its rightful place as one of our nation’s finest regional museums.”
According to the Accreditation Commission the Museum must wait one year before seeking reaccreditation. MNA plans to request a review of AAM’s decision.