SAM NOBLE OKLAHOMA MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY TO HOST INTERNATIONAL MUSEUM CONFERENCE lc/03-07-03 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Linda Coldwell (405) 325-0598 NORMAN – The Sam Noble Oklahoma Museum of Natural History (SNOMNH) at the University of Oklahoma (OU) is preparing to host the annual conference of the International Committee for University Museums and Collections (UMAC). The conference will attract museum professionals from university and college museums around the world. UMAC is a newly formed committee of the International Council of Museums (ICOM) with over 200 members worldwide. The museum anticipates that as many as 25 countries will be represented at the conference, which will take place Sept. 21-26. ICOM committees meet in different countries almost every year. Peter Tirrell, the museum’s associate director and a member of the UMAC board, is serving as chair of the conference. He and Michael A. Mares, former museum director, now curator of mammals, were among UMAC’s founding members. The United States National Committee of ICOM, a part of the American Association of Museums, is an affiliate host. Affiliate hosts at OU include the Office of Education Abroad and International Student Services, Western History Collection, History of Science Collection, Fred Jones Jr. Museum of Art, Switzer Center and Charles M. Russell Center for the Study of Art of the American West. Metro-area museums also serving as affiliate hosts include the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum, The Oklahoma City National Memorial, and the Oklahoma City Museum of Art. Lawton area affiliate hosts are the Museum of the Great Plains and the Fort Sill National Historic Landmark. “Hosting an ICOM committee meeting in the United States is a rare event,” Tirrell said. “It’s something of a coup for the SNOMNH because most of ICOM’s membership is based in Europe, and so the committees tend most frequently to meet there. It’s an honor to be chosen as the host site.” Tirrell credits the success of the museum’s building campaign in part for the selection of Oklahoma as the site for the meeting. “Many museums in other countries are in need of new facilities and we have one that can serve as a model,” he said. “OU also has a lot of other relevant attractions for this group. We have an outstanding university, a great natural history museum, a great art museum undergoing current renovations, and several other significant collections on campus.” The theme of the conference is Engaging the Community. Focus areas include museum outreach and in-reach, partnerships among museums and between museums and schools, libraries, corporations, and indigenous people and ethnic groups. The committee will spend much of its time in Norman in meetings and other activities focusing on a variety of topics pertaining to university museums. Short films and poster exhibits also are planned. In addition, the committee members will have opportunities to take in some of the local attractions during their stay. Site-seeing and cultural excursions are planned for the group, including a visit to the Wichita Wildlife Refuge and to several museums and attractions in the metro area. Several dinners and receptions also are planned with local speakers. According to Tirrell, membership in the new committee is growing. Museums and museum professionals may become involved by joining ICOM and signing up for membership in the UMAC committee. Additional information about the 2003 UMAC Conference, including registration forms, proposal forms for papers and programs and a schedule of events, is available on the museum’s Web site: www.snomnh.ou.edu/umac2003. Additional information about UMAC is available on their Web site: www.icom.org/umac or on the ICOM Web site: http://icom.museum. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Change ICOM-L subscription options, unsubscribe, and search the archives at: http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html