LSU announced its Museum of Art earned one of the nation’s most complimentary honors for the second time.

The LSU Museum of Art received accreditation from the American Alliance of Museums last month, marking the museum’s second time earning one of the highest forms of recognition in the country. The accreditation signifies a museum’s excellence, validates its operation and honors its impact.

Mark A. Tullos, the museum’s director, said the museum’s staff was elated to receive the accreditation after updating policies and procedures in preparation for its review.

“It puts us in a unique class of museums in the country,” Tullos said. “And so when other museum professionals either receive communications from us or go to our website, they know we’ve passed a significant test with a professional association.”

The American Alliance of Museums is a nonprofit organization focused on improving the museum community and uniting the industry, connecting 35,000 museums across the country.

The AAM uses standards such as public trust and accountability, stewardship, planning and more when reviewing a museum for accreditation. Institutions are eligible to go through the reaccreditation process every 10 years.

After receiving its first accreditation in 2010, Tullos said staff “transformed the institution into a place of excellence” to receive the reaccreditation.

Out of the tens of thousands of museums in the country, only a small fraction earn the AAM’s high honor. Being accredited is not only a sign of talent, but a way of promising the museum is worth trusting and working with. This opens the museum to working with more interesting and exclusive work, including bringing unique exhibits to the museum.

Recently, the museum’s “In a New Light” exhibit held a wealth of pieces of American impressionism. It brought these pieces to Baton Rouge by worked cooperatively with the Bank of America.

Tullos said it is important for the museum to curate interesting exhibits with unique pieces because it may be the only way some community members get to engage with them. It also allows the museum to educate the public about art, which Tullos says is the museum’s primary focus.

The LSU Museum of Art preserves 7,000 sculptures, paintings and drawings. Maintaining these pieces and displaying them in a straightforward way are a part of a museum’s accountability, an attribute the AAM judges institutions on.

Tullos emphasized students receive free admission to the LSU Museum of Art and that the museum often changes so there is always something new to engage with.