EUGENE, Ore. -- (June 14, 2011) -- Jill Hartz, executive director of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon, is now president of the Association of Academic Museums and Galleries (AAMG).

The AAMG is the leading educational and professional organization for academic museums, galleries and collections. Organized in 1980 as the Association of College and University Museums and Galleries and renamed in 2010, the AAMG includes students, professionals and international museums.

"I am honored and excited to be the new president of the AAMG," says Hartz, who previously served on its board of directors, most recently as secretary of the organization. "In the past two years, we gained increased visibility and importance for our educational efforts in calling for the protection of academic collections, following the actions of Brandeis, Randolph and other universities and colleges to sell works from their museum collections.

"We've worked closely with our colleagues at the American Association of Museums, the Association of Art Museum Directors, and major foundations to champion this issue and create new accreditation requirements for academic institutions."

Hartz joined the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in August 2008. She is responsible for the 13,000+ collection items with special strengths in Asian and Pacific Northwest Art and the 60,000 square foot facility that was renovated and expanded in 2005.

From 1997 to 2008, she served as director of the University of Virginia Art Museum in Charlottesville. She also worked for 10 years previously at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art at Cornell University.

Hartz is editor of four books, including "Agnes Denes," a monograph produced for the retrospective exhibition at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, in 1992; "Siting Jefferson: Contemporary Artists Interpret Thomas Jefferson's Legacy," documenting the 2000 exhibition "Hindsight-Fore-Site: Art for the New Millennium" (2003); and "Amazonia," the catalogue for the exhibition she curated in 2010. In addition, she is a reviewer for the Institute of Museums and Library Services and for the AAM's Museum Assessment Programs and Accreditation.

About the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art
The University of Oregon's Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is a premier Pacific Northwest visual arts center for exhibitions and collections of historic and contemporary art based in a major university setting. The mission of the museum is to enhance the University of Oregon's academic mission and to further the appreciation and enjoyment of the visual arts for the general public. The JSMA features significant collections galleries devoted to Russian icons and art from China, Japan, Korea, America and elsewhere as well as changing special exhibition galleries. The JSMA is one of six museums in Oregon accredited by the American Association of Museums.

The Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art is located on the University of Oregon campus at 1430 Johnson Lane. Museum hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesdays, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays through Sundays. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for senior citizens. Free admission is given to ages 18 and under, JSMA members, college students with ID, and University of Oregon faculty, staff and students. For information, contact the JSMA, 541-346-3027.

MEDIA CONTACT: Debbie Williamson-Smith, JSMA communications, 541-346-0942, debbiews@uoregon.edu

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