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Reaccredited by the American Alliance of Museums

  • A photo of children sitting around a table with art materials. One of the children is leaning across the table pointing at something and smiling.

    LEFT A school group visiting the Hood Museum’s Peter Smith Studio as part of the Images program for students in grades 4–6. Photo by Rob Strong.

  • A photograph of two women standing and pointing at a painting hung on a wall.

    LEFT Evans Family Distinguished Professor of African and African American Studies Trica Keaton and Andrew W. Mellon Curator of Academic Programming and Curator of European Art Elizabeth Rice Mattison look at works in the museum’s collection together. Photo by Alison Palizzolo.

ALEX BORTOLOT
Deputy Director

Hood Quarterly, spring 2026

In the museum world, we sometimes refer to "museum time," which is a way of saying that things seldom happen quickly in these institutions. Much of what we do is years in the making, and this is by design: careful stewardship of an art collection in the public trust is methodical, careful work governed by practices and procedures designed to ensure that the museum and what it holds are around for generations to come.

This long view came into public focus at the Hood Museum of Art in 2025 as we celebrated our fortieth year as an institution. Behind the scenes, it manifested in yet another way as we successfully sought reaccreditation from the American Alliance of Museums (AAM). Accreditation is a distinction within our field that vouches for a museum's commitment to core standards of excellence in education, public service, collections care, organizational governance, and financial responsibility. Out of the 33,000 museums in the United States, approximately 4 percent are accredited.

The Hood Museum first received accreditation in 2000 and was reaccredited in 2010. The reaccreditation process involved an extensive self-study, peer review, and site visit by two sitting museum directors. Considered to be the gold standard of excellence in the field, AAM accreditation is a signifier of an institution's credibility and integrity. It allows the Hood Museum greater access to grants and loan opportunities, and it reinforces Dartmouth's overall reputation for excellence. It also ensures that the museum remains a model environment for learning and leadership in the field.

As a museum, we always actively engage the present while keeping our eyes on the future. Our successful reaccreditation is something to celebrate as we look toward this institution's next forty years of service to Dartmouth and the broader community.

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Tags: Quarterly

Written March 12, 2026