Brad Taylor, Associate Director of the University of Michigan’s Museum Studies Program, was awarded the President’s Award from the Michigan Museums Association annual awards conference this October. 

Michigan museum professionals, volunteers, and supporters gathered in Grand Rapids, MI for the annual conference, a joint venture between the Michigan Museums Association (MMA) and the Association of Midwest Museums, as well as the MMA Awards. The awards, presented annually by the association, acknowledged excellence in several areas. Four individuals or organizations in the Michigan museum community received awards, which included Volunteer of the Year, the President’s Award, the Peninsula’s Prize and the Outreach Award.

“The individuals honored by us this year represent the thousands of people in our state who are passionate about their work in museums, and are well deserved,” said Lisa Craig Brisson, who is the executive director of the Michigan Museums Association. 

The President’s Award, awarded this year to U-M Museum Studies associate director and professor Brad Taylor, is bestowed annually to one individual, company or organization, recognizing their “exemplary support of the Michigan Museums Association and service to Michigan museums.”

Through the past several decades, Dr. Taylor has helped shape the U-M Graduate Certificate program and create the Museum Studies undergraduate minor at U-M. He is a scholar whose research has focused on such topics as authenticity and the limitations of digital surrogates, the history of Henry Ford’s British collecting and the power of art in Detroit’s Heidelberg Project. 

Dr. Taylor is passionately committed to social justice and ethical behavior and to the potential of museums to challenge our preconceptions and address contemporary issues. He has been described as the breadth and energy of the U-M Museum Studies Program.

“Dr. Taylor has been an invaluable supporter of the Michigan Museums Association,” said Nathan Kemler, MMA Board President. “He is a builder of relations, a source of ideas and inspiration, and deeply dedicated to his students, colleagues, and Michigan’s museums.”