New Director Wants to Take a “Truly Relevant” MSU Museum to the Campus and Community

<p>“It's great to be back,” <a href="https://twitter.com/DevonAkmon">Akmon</a> says. “I did work here at the <a href="https://www.museum.msu.edu/">MSU Museum</a> as an undergrad. I did what I like to affectionately refer to as grunt work, painting a lot of walls, helping with a lot of exhibitions, and putting the vinyl on the walls. I was an art history and museum studies student at the time. It's interesting to look back. I really think those were the first steps that actually launched my career. It exposed me to museums in a new way, and I got some theoretical training with some practical hands on experience. And when I left MSU, I ended up going to grad school and studying something completely different. And as luck would have it, instead of actually going into that field, I ended up in a museum as I finished my graduate studies and then began my journey. It's brought me back here almost 20 years later. I would have never imagined that I'd be back here at MSU working for the museum, but it's a bit of a homecoming. It's great to be back.”</p><p>Akmon describes the mission of <a href="https://detroit.sciencegallery.com/">Science Gallery Detroit</a> and tells why he was excited to <a href="https://msutoday.msu.edu/news/2021/museum-director">add director of the MSU Museum to his responsibilities</a>. And he shares some of his short- and long-term goals for the Museum.</p><p>“The very first thing we're going to do is put our heads down and actually put together a strong strategic plan and think about, in that planning process, what are the types of resources we need? What does our programming look like over the next five years? In general, and especially coming out of consulting, I've learned that one of the number one barrier that prohibits organizations from truly flourishing in the arts sector is not planning out far enough. You don't have enough time to think creatively, to fundraise, to market, and to educate your audiences. We're going to put our heads down and really build a strong roadmap. And in t