Davenport, IOWA (June 2012) On Sunday, July 1, 2012 the American Association of Museums (AAM) President Ford W. Bell will visit the Figge Art Museum in Downtown Davenport, Iowa. Mr. Bell is on a statewide tour of accredited museum and is scheduled to arrive at the Figge at noon. During his museum visit, Mr. Bell will meet and listen to museum leadership about the issues they are facing, as well as share how being an accredited museum is an outstanding accomplishment in the museum field. Mr. Bell will available to speak with the media at 2pm, after a museum tour and a lunch with members of the Figge staff, Board of Trustees and community leaders.
The Figge was awarded re-accreditation from the American Association of Museums in 2010. Accreditation from the AAM is the highest national recognition for a museum and signifies excellence to the museum community, to governments, funders, outside agencies, and to the museum-going public.
Mr. Bell is scheduled to visit four other Iowa museums: Cedar Rapids Museum of Art, Cedar Rapids; The National Czech and Slovak Museum, Cedar Rapids; Grout Museum of History & Science, Waterloo; and MacNider Art Museum, Mason City.
Ford W. Bell began his tenure as president of the American Association of Museums in June 2007. He brings to AAM a lifelong passion for museums, and a clear understanding of the important role which museums play as places of lifelong learning and inspiration.
Bell has a longstanding relationship with the museum community. He helped raise $103 million as co-chair of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts' "Bring Art to Life" capital campaign, completed in 2006 and he served as chair of the organization's board from 2003 to 2005. A board-certified veterinary oncologist, Bell credits his many childhood visits to the Bell Museum at the University of Minnesota with fostering a lifelong love of nature and science.
Bell has more than 30 years experience as a nonprofit executive, board chair, donor, trustee and educator. A candidate for the U.S. Senate in 2006, he was president and CEO of the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, a prominent clinical cardiovascular research organization and a nationally recognized provider of community heart health education.
From 1982 to 1995, Bell served on the staff of the University of Minnesota's College of Veterinary Medicine, where he taught and did clinical research in comparative oncology. He served as trustee and elder at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Minneapolis, and co-chaired that institution's $16 million capital campaign. From 1993 to 2007, he served as chair of the James Ford Bell Foundation. An educator for much of his career, Bell also served as a trustee of Connecticut College in New London. CT from 1998 to 2007.
About AAM
AAM was founded in 1906 to represent the entire museum field. Today AAM has some 20,000 members, including 3,000 museums, zoos, aquariums and public gardens. Its stated mission is "to enhance the value of museums to their communities through leadership, advocacy, and service." The largest museum organization in the world, AAM serves the field by promoting standards and best practices; gathering and sharing knowledge; and providing advocacy on issues of concern to the museum community.
For more information about AAM visit www.aam-us.org
