MPMA Affinity and Standing Professional Committees

Affinity Committees are groups with a common professional affinity that represent specific disciplines within the museum profession. They provide a network for people with common interests and similar professional positions. Standing Professional Committees (SPCs) are affinity groups that meet specific requirements to have a vote on the MPMA board.

Affinity Committees and SPC’s provide MPMA members a chance to gather in a small group with like-minded professionals who do the same thing. For example, those who belong to MPMA’s NAME (National Association of Museum Exhibition) meet exhibits designers and techies from ten different states and find out about their projects, where they buy exhibit-related items, and what their opinion is on the latest exhibit issues. MPMA’s groups operate informally and formally, provide a means by which colleagues can network and discuss issues AND are open to all MPMA members. Affinity groups typically gather once a year at MPMA’s annual conference and are in contact with each throughout the year.

Feel free to attend these groups’ meetings at the next MPMA conference. You will find that they are your ticket to getting to know others around the region who do what you do. For more information, call or email the contact people listed below to find out more about the group (or groups) that interests you.

Click on links below for more information.
Affinity Committees and SPCs
Pathways:   the Online Journal for Emerging Leaders

Students:

CALL FOR PAPERS
MUSEUM STUDIES/PUBLIC HISTORY STUDENTS AND PROGRAM ADMINISTRATORS

Mountain Plains Museums Association Conference:   Taos, New Mexico,
September 18-22, 2006

Deadline:  May 15, 2006

Museum Studies and Public History students are asked to submit proposals
for papers to be presented at the 2006 MPMA conference.  Accepted papers
will be presented at the Student Forum session, "Year of the Museum:
Professional Training, Past, Present, and Future."  Papers may address any
aspect of program training, including research, internship, and applied
projects.  Papers focusing on new directions in museum training, the
national theme "Year of the Museum," or on the conference theme " Taos :  A
Convergence of Cultures--Past, Present, and Future" are encouraged.

In order to propose a student paper for presentation, please submit the
following:  Administrator's name, institutional affilliation, and contact
information (including email); student's name and contact information,
paper title and a one- to two-page abstract, and equipment requests. 

Send materials to:  Dr. Carolyn Pool, Department of History and Geography,
University of Central Oklahoma , 100 N. University, Edmond , OK 73034 ;
cpool@ucok.edu.

Deadline:   The deadline for paper submissions is May 15.

This is an excellent opportunity for students to present a paper at a
regional conference and to meet and visit with professionals in the field.
The session will be sponsored by COMPT, ACUMG, and Emerging Leaders.
Students presenting papers are encouraged to apply for MPMA scholarships
and to pursue funding through their universities