Greetings everyone, and welcome from your University of Mississippi Museum and William Faulkner’s Rowan Oak. As I write these words, since our last monthly newsletter we’ve had both a calendar and a climatic seasonal shift to Fall — always such a delight to experience for a Minnesota born-and-raised kid who is hardwired for the colder days and nights soon upon us. We look forward to seeing you at our Museum and our literary heritage site often in the weeks ahead, and please recall my prior reminder of our new staff members who you will greatly appreciate introducing yourselves to at our programs and events: Grace Moorman and Andrea Drummond at the Museum, and Rachel Hudson at Rowan Oak.
I’d like to take a moment to speak briefly in this issue of the distinctive and unique status of a campus-based academic museum, each with a teaching and research mission specific to its college or university parent institution. We proudly include ourselves in this classification, and as such we are an Institutional Member of the Association of Academic Museums & Galleries. Having previously also served an academic museum at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, I have a particular affinity for the special characteristics and mandates of what are also designated as ‘teaching museums’.
Among these are the duality of being inward-turning to serve our own University’s faculty, students, staff, and research scholars, while equally and simultaneously outward-facing in our service to lifelong learners of our Oxford, Lafayette County, North Mississippi, and regional communities. Each ‘directional’ focus leads toward our developing different types of programs, events, and engagement opportunities with our collections and exhibitions. While having teaching opportunities with an annual average of nearly 14,000 youth, schoolchildren, and families — (on-site, virtual, and in-classroom) — we also serve audiences of as high as 30,000 annually at our National Historic Landmark site Rowan Oak where house tour visitors in common pre-pandemic years represented several dozen foreign countries and all 50 U.S. states, annually. The Museum itself serves a truly mixed and vibrant blend of attendees and participants representing the young, the University, and the adult community. Very commonly, that mixed demographic of visitors is a daily if not even hourly occurrence.
Universities such as our own University of Mississippi very commonly have a tripartite Mission of Teaching, Research, and Service and it’s a considerable point of pride for the staff and I to contribute to each component of that mission in tangible and meaningful degrees. It may be more apparent to understand that a museum has a teaching purpose, given as we are to advancing learning and understanding in all that we do, and present. Service to community of course lies at the heart of what every great U.S. museum strives to accomplish, and we are very proud to hold public service and access to widely diverse audiences as an enduring commitment.
It’s the research component that most eludes general understanding, as these are most commonly ‘back of house’ activities that take many forms but only periodically have publicly-visible manifestations. Research in its Collections advances incremental understanding of a museum’s holdings and supports scholarship, publication, and dissemination of new knowledge both nationally and internationally. Research also lies at the core of an active Exhibitions program, with in-depth curatorial and collections management study being essential precursors to any show’s first appearing in the galleries. Research also lies at the core of initiatives as diverse as development and fundraising success; sustained quality of audience and visitor experience; and partnerships-building with affiliated institutions. It is essentially no exaggeration to note that we are as likely to receive research inquiries about our Greek and Roman Antiquities collection from Birmingham, Boston, or Berlin.
This subject of the particular meaning, programs, and impacts of campus-based academic teaching museums is one of ceaseless interest to me — don’t get me started! Or do, come by any day, the espresso and conversation will be my great pleasure to host. A mere scanning through the webpages of the Association of Academic Museums & Galleries will reveal an extraordinary range of activity and missions that speak to this unique museum typology and category. We remain exceptionally proud to be Mississippi’s largest academic museum by far, and with a 20,000-object Permanent Collection and an 82-year history, one of the most acclaimed and venerable in the 12-state Southeast region.
We all look forward eagerly to seeing you this fall at Harvest Supper, at our Pumpkin Carving Contest, and our rich diversity of Exhibitions now on display — details of which are available in the pages to follow. Each has been the result of a confluence of skilled and talented staff and supporters dedicating themselves tirelessly to our success … and to your advanced knowledge and enjoyment!
With sincere regards, always
Robert Saarnio
Museum Director
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