I have been director of museums at three different academic institutions and
have found the most effective relationship is that of reporting directly to
the President of the institution or at the least to an academic VP or
Provost. It really depends upon the politics of your institution.   The
rationale for this relationship being that the museum serves a much broader
community than does an academic department.  You may want to read Humphrey's
article on University Museums in Curator, which came out several years ago.
I do not have the specific reference -- undoubtedly someone on the list does.

Wallace A. Steffan, Director
Sun Cities Museum of Art
Sun City, AZ 85351
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First the background: I work for a small museum at a small college which is part
> of a
>larger state system.  The college is in the midst of re-accreditation
>and will be looking at how the museum fits into the 'big picture'.
>(A much larger sister university just  closed  its much older, much bigger
museu
>m).  We are presently part of
>We are currently part of institutional advancement, with the bulk of our
funding
> provided by the college foundation.  I have a non-teaching faculty appointment
> ( as well as a term by term teaching appointment).
>Now the question:  Where do other college/university museums fit into
>the structure of their schools.  Are you part of an academic
>department? part of the provost's office? ( as our library is), or
>what?  I would like to have some models -  successful or
>unsuccessful- to help me present a feasible suggestion to the president
when she
>asks me to.  Any help you can provide will be appreciated.  thanks in
>advance.
>
>Mariana
>
>