Blue Star Museums

This summer, the University of Mississippi Museum along with 1,800 museums nationwide participates in Blue Star Museums, a program of the National Endowment of the Arts offering free museum admission to military families from Memorial Day through Labor Day.  Blue Star Museums enables American communities to thank our military families for their service and sacrifice … Read more

Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) Grant

The University of Mississippi Museum received a grant to be a part of the Conservation Assessment Program (CAP) overseen by Heritage Preservation. CAP assists museums by providing funds for professional conservation and preservation specialists to identify the conservation needs of their collections and historic structures and recommend ways to improve collections and building conditions. Professional … Read more

Volunteer spotlight: Joel Wright, AmeriCorps VISTA

The UM Museum benefits greatly from the generosity of its volunteers and celebrates the dedicated service of Joel Wright. Born in Stillwater, Oklahoma, Joel graduated from Hendrix College in 2005 with a B.A. in History and Education. Before obtaining his Master’s degree, he taught high school for four years in the Arkansas Delta and Holly … Read more

Museum’s Annual Membership Party

A highly festive mood prevailed on the evening of Thursday, October 11, 2012, when members of the Oxford community and University leaders gathered for the Museum’s annual Members’ Party, which celebrated recent gifts of artwork to the Museum’s permanent collection. Newly arrived Museum Director, Robert Saarnio, and Museum staff were on hand to greet guests. … Read more

Museum Advocate Remembered

The University Museum is deeply saddened to share news of the passing of Elizabeth Cummings Fortune—known to all her Oxford and Ole Miss friends as “Lib.”  She was preceded in death by her husband Porter Lee Fortune Jr., Chancellor of the University of Mississippi from 1968 to 1984. She passed away in Atlanta on October … Read more

Retired Professor Creates Endowment for Museum Education and Outreach

Retired University of Mississippi Education professor Lynton Dilley fondly remembers toting around heavy, military-style footlockers in 1981 when she helped establish one of the campus museum’s first educational outreach programs—what were then called the “Dilley Boxes.” Dilley, with help from fellow Education professors Cindy Leigh and Peggy Emerson, acquired trunks stocked with hands-on learning materials … Read more

Museum Education and Outreach News

This past fall, the Museum once again came alive with audiences of all ages creating art inspired by the Museum’s diverse collections and exciting new exhibitions. Our education programs reached record attendance numbers of almost 3,000 participants this fall alone, and we continued to reach new groups far beyond the walls of the Museum. Our … Read more