Athens, Ga. – William Underwood Eiland, director of the Georgia Museum of Art, recently received the James R. Short award for service to the museum profession from the Southeastern Museums Conference.
Established by SEMC in 1981, the purpose of this award is to recognize individuals who have given a lifetime (20 years or more) of distinguished service to the museum profession, with a significant portion of that service at a museum within the SEMC region.
“To be recognized by my peers, by people whom I admire and respect, makes this award even more meaningful, perhaps the most gratifying of my professional life,” said Eiland.
Eiland has been the recipient of several fellowships, including a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship, the Danforth Teaching Fellowship at the University of Virginia, a Museum Professionals Grant from the National Endowment for the Arts and a Research Fellowship from the University of Georgia Center for Humanities and Arts.
Marilyn Laufer, director of the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art at Auburn University, who nominated Eiland for the award said, “Bill has worked tirelessly at a regional and national level on behalf of all southern museums to receive the respect and due recognition they deserve in terms of their fine collections and diverse programs. Bill has always insisted on the highest level of scholarship and quality and has constantly reminded all of us that in the final analysis museums are places of great learning, and we must never lose sight of that mission.”
The SEMC is a nonprofit membership organization that serves Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands. SEMC fosters professionalism, mutual support and communication among its members and the larger museum community.
Partial support for the exhibitions and programs at the Georgia Museum of Art is provided by the Georgia Council for the Arts through appropriations of the Georgia General Assembly. The Council is a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Individuals, foundations and corporations provide additional museum support through their gifts to the Arch Foundation and the University of Georgia foundation. The Georgia Museum of Art is located in the Performing and Visual Arts Complex on the East Campus of the University of Georgia. The address is 90 Carlton Street, University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia, 30602. The museum’s galleries are temporarily closed in preparation for construction of the museum’s expansion. The Museum Shop and offices are currently still open. Museum Shop Hours: Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 4:45 p.m., Sunday from 1 p.m. until 4:45 p.m. and Wednesday from 10 a.m. until 8:45 p.m. For more information see, www.uga.edu/gamuseum or call 706/542-GMOA (4662).