Pictured (l to r) Robert Guptill, NU’68, Vice President, Museum Associates; Sen. Patrick Leahy; Harold Closter, Director, Smithsonian Affiliations; Sarah Henrich, Director, Sullivan Museum and History Center (SMHC) and Norwich University President Richard W. Schneider raise a glass to toast the SMHC as a Smithsonian Affiliate. Norwich University/Mark Collier
Norwich University President Richard Schneider announced last week that the Sullivan Museum and History Center (SMHC) has been named Vermont’s first Smithsonian Affiliate.
The announcement was made at a reception at the Northfield museum, in which remarks were also given by Senator Patrick Leahy, Director of Smithsonian Affiliations Harold Closter and SMHC Director Sarah Henrich.
“This national recognition of the Sullivan Museum as a Smithsonian Affiliate provides us with another opportunity to showcase the historic contributions of Norwich from our past up through today and to bring the nation’s treasures to Norwich and Vermont,” Schneider said.
Among other benefits, Smithsonian Affiliates enjoy sharing agreements with all 19 Smithsonian museums enabling exhibition of objects from the national museum collection as well as providing outlets for Norwich objects to be shown outside of Vermont.
Senator Leahy, the Senate’s President Pro Tempore and since 2001 one of three Senate members of the Smithsonian’s 17-member governing Board of Regents, said: “As a Vermonter and a Smithsonian Regent I’m doubly proud of this designation. Acceptance into the Smithsonian Affiliates program is a great credit to the Sullivan Museum and History Center and to Norwich University. It signifies the Sullivan museum’s vitality and high standards. Hitching our star to the Smithsonian, and the Smithsonian to the Sullivan Museum’s energy, is a winner from every perspective. This broad partnership will deepen the Sullivan Museum’s and Vermonters’ access to a broad array of professional and educational resources, as well as to the Smithsonian’s unparalleled collections. It will bring Norwich’s rich history to wider audiences beyond our borders.”
“The Sullivan Museum and History Center was selected to become a Smithsonian Affiliate because it plays an important role in preserving and presenting Vermont and America’s history through the experiences of citizen soldiers and others who served and sacrificed in defense of our heritage,” said Director of Smithsonian Affiliations Harold Closter. “As an important regional and University-based museum the work of the Sullivan Museum and History Center matches our mission and complements the work that the Smithsonian undertakes on a national level. We look forward to sharing collections, research expertise, and educational programs in order to reach larger audiences and inspire future generations.”
Established in 1996, Smithsonian Affiliations is a national outreach program that develops long-term collaborative partnerships with museums, educational, and cultural organizations to enrich communities with Smithsonian resources. More information about the Smithsonian Affiliations program and Affiliate activity is available at www.affiliations.si.edu.
