Words from the Prez

Network News Fall 2008
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Words from the Prez
Erik Holland, President of the Board, Museum Education Roundtable

Recently, my late summers have included a trip to Washington, DC. This year, like each of the past five, I have participated in the two-day Museum Education Roundtable (MER) new board member orientation, August board meeting and planning retreat. As I leave Washington, DC, I reflect both on the state of the board and that of the organization.

This year, I feel particularly positive about the state of the Museum Education Roundtable. The board meeting and retreat this year remained focused on the vision statement approved last year by the board at the August 13, 2007 meeting. The Vision Statement, Together – Realizing Connections on the Pathways to Best Practices, grew from discussions the board undertook following bylaw changes, which paved the way for the Museum Education Roundtable to be a financially stable, membership organization that continues to be known for the Journal of Museum Education.

Other conversations that have captured board attention in recent years include:

• Changes in communication speed and connectivity related to the advent of personal computers, the world wide web and the innovations that have grown from these realities and how MER must respond
• Continuation and refining of MER’s relationship with AAM’s EdCom
• Regional and local Roundtables, and
• The closing of the physical office and establishment of a virtual one
• Establishment and later the health of our partnership with Left Coast Press as the Journal of Museum Education matures

As we undertook our work and discussed what had and had not worked as effectively as we hoped in the past year, I could feel the internal/external balance necessary for a national organization to function successfully. We considered our shortcomings and ways to provide positive direction for the organization others have given us to lead.

A specific reason for my positive feelings following the DC meetings this year is the strategic planning portion of this year’s meeting focused on establishing clear goals.

Goals

1. Improve board functioning.
2. Increase and diversify membership.
3. Create a more active and engaged membership.
4. Expand and sustain lines of communication between MER and regional groups.
5. Bring MER’s online resources into alignment with MER’s vision and mission.

These goals will serve each committee as useful benchmarks against which to test their activities.

Each newly constituted committee had time this year in DC to meet and begin to draft action steps for the coming year. These committee-level action steps will be finalized at the October board meeting. One action step that I advocated for is formalizing bylaw changes that the board has spent many hours drafting over the past five years. These changes will be brought to the membership this year for approval.

Look for other positive steps of the Museum Education Roundtable in months to come. If you would like to become more involved in your Museum Education Roundtable your participation in committee work would be welcomed. Drop me a note and I will see where you might fit.

The Museum Education Roundtable
P.O. Box 15727, Washington, D.C. 20003
info@mer-online.org, www.mer-online.org
tel: 202.547.8378, fax 202.547.8344