Academic and Community Outreach Coordinator

Position Summary:

The Academic and Community Outreach Coordinator (ACOC) is responsible for planning, implementing, and assessing public programming related to Vanderbilt University Museum of Art (VUMA) exhibits and collections. The ACOC will work with classes, instructors, and student groups across campus to boost attendance at the museum and create meaningful experiences as they visit the museum. The ACOC will also be responsible for maintaining working relationships with key community stakeholders as well as developing new ones guided by the museum’s director and curatorial staff. The ACOC will, with input from the museum’s director, assess the efficacy of VUMA’s public programming and make any necessary changes to best serve the museum’s audiences. 

Key Functions and Expected Performance:

Designing, coordinating, and delivering innovative educational programs related to VUMA’s exhibits and collections tailored to different age groups and audience types, including school groups, families, adults, and community organizations.

Work with instructors to provide meaningful class visits to the museum that serve course goals. Cultivate relationships with faculty from diverse disciplines to establish new curricular ties to the museum’s collections and exhibitions.

Develop community programs to attract new audiences and design learning experiences for groups who visit the museum. 

Monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of educational programs in coordination with the museum director and staff, adjusting as necessary to improve visitor engagement and learning outcomes.

Become familiar with Nashville’s art scene and promote the museum within it.

Play a significant role in publicizing, planning and executing museum events, including overseeing event planning, setup, and breakdown for programs and lectures.

Seek opportunities to develop and stay current in museum education skills and methodologies. 

Coordinate internship program and student gallery workers:

• Review applications for internships and student gallery attendants and make recommendations to VUMA’s director and staff.
• Recruit, train, and oversee student gallery workers and volunteers assisting with educational programs.
• Communicate with student gallery attendants in a timely fashion about hiring, scheduling, and setting reasonable expectations for their performance.

Supervisory relationships: 

This position supervises student workers and interns; this position reports administratively and functionally to the director of VUMA.

Education: 

A Master’s degree in art, art history, museum studies or a related field is necessary; 3-5 years of programming, curatorial, or teaching experience is required.

Experience and skills:

Experience teaching with works of art is necessary.

A willingness to learn museum standards and uphold best practices for the care, handling, and display of art and historical objects is required. 

Ability to create equitable, accessible, and inclusive processes, materials, and experiences that honor diverse experiences, identities, and narratives.

Strong interpersonal and communication skills, both written and oral, are required.

Experience with event planning and exhibition programming is required.

An ability to work independently and time management skills are required.

A commitment to advocating for the museum and to keeping up with best practices in museum education as set forth by principal organizations, including AAM, AAMG, and ICOM, is required.

A commitment to adhere to Vanderbilt’s policies for risk management is essential.

An ability to work collaboratively with a small team is essential.

Key characteristics of a successful team member in this work unit:

A collaborative mindset is essential for this position. The team at VUMA is small and all involved must communicate, share information, and aid each other, especially regarding events and high-profile meetings.

Good communication and problem-solving skills are essential for this position. The successful candidate will be a creative thinker who communicates proactively with others in the unit.

The successful candidate for this position must enjoy and be committed to continuing to learn. Gaining and maintaining familiarity with the field of museum education is essential.