de Sasset Museum receieves national honor

By NIKKI COLLINS

Santa Clara's de Saisset Museum has been awarded accreditation by the American Association of Museums - the highest honor a museum can receive.

"Accreditation is a cause for celebration," de Saisset Museum Director Rebecca Schapp said. "It also signals a commitment to continuing improvement and change."

The national honor certifies that the museum operates according to museum profession standards, provides quality services to the public and manages its collection responsibly. de Saisset is one of few museums in the United States to receive the honor. Out of 8,000 museums nationwide, only 750 were accredited.

"Within the greater Bay area - up to San Francisco to the East Bay and down to Monterey - we are one of 18, and the only institution within the South Bay [to be accredited]," Schapp said.

The accreditation process is not complete even though the museum has received the decision letter. To remain accredited de Saisset must be committed to making self-assessment a routine part of internal museum operations, according to Schapp.

Since the museum's first accreditation in 1979, the Accreditation Commission has initiated mandatory accreditation reviews once every 10 years.

"We have already been informed that they will be in touch with us in 2007 and there is much work to be done between now and then," Schapp said. "Our two biggest areas of need are to upgrade our collections storage facility with compactor storage systems and to become part of the long range planning process of the university with emphasis on pulling the museum into capital campaign priorities."

Schapp, who has been with the museum for 18 years and the director for eight, hopes the people in the Bay area share her pride in having earned this prestigious honor.

"The process was rigorous and demanding, as we examined virtually every aspect of our museum's operation," Schapp said. "A written self-study and an on-site review by an experienced museum professional were required. This process of evaluation has taken us three years to complete. We invite everyone in our community to help us celebrate this award by visiting the de Saisset Museum and exploring its fine programs and exhibits."

The 17,000 square foot de Saisset Museum is a museum of art and history. It was founded in 1955 bordering the Mission Santa Clara de Asis on the Santa Clara University campus. The museum was built through an endowment from Isabel de Saisset, in memory of her deceased brother Ernest. He was a painter and a student at the university, as well as the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris.

Ernest de Saisset's paintings are contained in the museum, as well as his family's silver, jewelry, furniture and decorative arts. The collection has grown to nearly 10,000 objects, including 3,500 prints and photographs since its founding.

The museum presents temporary exhibitions of art, as well as lectures, concerts and film series, for the educational and cultural benefit of the university community and its visitors.

The university's California history collection is also cared for in the de Saisset Museum. Ethnographic artifacts from the pre-European contact period and historical objects that document the shifting characteristics of the Santa Clara Valley from the founding of the Mission through the Gold Rush and early years of the university are included in the collection as well.

The American Association of Museums offers accreditation as one of several programs to help museums achieve and maintain standards of quality and excellence in the museum profession. The American Association of Museums is a national organization, with its headquarters in Washington, D.C., that has served the museum profession since 1906.

The de Saisset Museum is located at 500 El Camino Real, Santa Clara. It is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information on the current exhibit, upcoming shows and events call (408) 554-4528.