46: UMAC and University Museums in the 21st Century

As the Chau Chak Wing Museum gets set to host the UMAC2023 conference, for this episode of Object Matters host Dr Craig Barker is joined by UMAC President and Chau Chak Wing Museum Research Fellow Dr Andrew Simpson.

UMAC University Museums and Collections, an International Committee of ICOM (International Council of Museums) was founded in 2001 to advocate for university museums and teaching and research collections for museums around the globe.

In this discussion, Craig and Andrew talk about the role of museums on a campus from a global perspective, UMAC as an organisation and the aims and ambitions of the 2023 iteration of the annual conference. They also speak at length about Andrew's new book, The Museums and Collections of Higher Education (Routledge 2023).


Guest: Dr Andrew Simpson is President of UMAC University Museums and Collections and has extensive experience in higher education, heritage, museums and galleries . Andrew has a science back and he began his museum career as a curator at the University of Queensland. At Macquarie University he introduced and developed Australia's first undergraduate degree program in Museum Studies followed by named postgraduate degree programs. These programs were delivered by the Science Faculty and designed as an alternative to the usual art history / cultural heritage study to career path. It produced graduates for the sector with an enhanced understanding of science in museum practice. His research interests are the history, role and functions of museums in society, in particular, university museums, museum education, natural history and the public understanding of science, as well as his own scientific interests.  

Host: Dr Craig Barker, Head of Public Engagement, Chau Chak Wing Museum and Director, Paphos Theatre Archaeological Excavations. Follow @DrCraig_B on Twitter and Instagram.