Maxwell Museum Blog
Jim Dixon’s term was a time of consolidation within the Museum and the building of new relations beyond it. The Maxwell Center for Anthropological Research was dissolved when Senior Research Coordinator Bruce Huckell moved his appointment entirely to the Department of Anthropology. However, the Museum’s commitment to conducting and fostering scholarly research continued uninterrupted. Curator Heather Edgar took a half-time appointment with the Office of the Medical Investigator and stepped downed from her Museum appointment. In 2017, Carmen Mosley, a doctoral student in biological anthropology, was appointed to support the Laboratory’s active teaching and research roles until a permanent curator can be hired.
After nearly 40 years of loyal support of the Museum, the Maxwell Museum Association, an independent 501c3, dissolved in 2012 and reorganized as Adventures in Anthropology, Inc., a nonprofit dedicated to the anthropology of the Southwest. The Museum established a new membership organization, the Friends of the Maxwell Museum, to acknowledge Maxwell Museum members and the many donors and volunteers who assist the Museum as docents, educators, collections volunteers, photographers, graphic designers, etc.
Exhibits curator Devorah Romanek and Preparator Michael Rendina joined the Museum in 2012 and 2010 respectively, and brought new energy to the temporary exhibits program. They joined Public Programs Manager Mary Beth Hermans (2005) and Education Curator Amy Grochowski, (2006) in the Interpretation Division. With long-term Maxwell volunteer Cathy Buchanan the Museum launched the Maxwell in Motion school bus program to fund field trips for classes from Albuquerque’s Title One public schools.
Friends at the Archaeology on Ice exhibition 2014