Fairfield University Art Museum Earns Academic Museum Certification

FAIRFIELD, CT — The Fairfield University Art Museum has earned certification from the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries, becoming one of the first museums in the country to receive the designation, according to the university.

The certification recognizes academic museums that meet standards in governance, collections stewardship, education, accessibility, strategic planning and community engagement. The museum said the certification complements its existing accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums.

The Association of Academic Museums and Galleries is a professional organization for academic museums, galleries and collections in higher education. The organization supports member institutions through professional development, advocacy and the promotion of professional practices.

According to Fairfield University, the certification places the museum among a network of certified academic museums that includes the Yale University Art Gallery, Harvard Art Museums, Princeton University Art Museum, the Georgia Museum of Art at the University of Georgia, the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, the University of Mississippi Museum and the Lowe Art Museum at the University of Miami.

The museum partners with Fairfield University faculty to incorporate original works of art into classroom instruction through object-based learning. The university said the museum offers customized class visits, gallery discussions and interdisciplinary collaborations to support visual literacy, critical thinking and analytical skills. Faculty interested in collection research, class visits, customized learning experiences or object-based teaching opportunities can contact the museum.

The museum's fall 2026 exhibition schedule includes "Hieroglyphs to Hype: The Afterlife of Ancient Egypt," on view in the Bellarmine Hall Galleries from Sept. 18 through Dec. 12, and "James Welling: Cento," on view in the Walsh Gallery from Sept. 25 through Dec. 12.

More information is available at fairfield.edu/museum or by contacting the museum at museum@fairfield.edu or 203-254-4046.