Professor Margaret Hedstrom has agreed to serve in the role of interim director for the Museum Studies Program through July 31, 2019. Hedstrom is the Robert M. Warner Collegiate Professor of Information in the School of Information, and she is an internationally recognized expert in digital preservation, archives, and electronic records management. She is a recent recipient of a National Science Foundation grant that allowed her to develop the Sustainable Environment through Actionable Data (SEAD) project.
The author of numerous scholarly papers, Hedstrom was a member of the National Academy of Sciences’ Board for Research Data and Information, and she chaired the Committee on Data Curation Workforce and Education Issues. She has served on numerous national and international boards, including the National Digital Strategy Advisory Board to the Library of Congress; the U.S. Department of State’s Advisory Committee on Historical Diplomatic Documentation; the ACLS Commission on Cyber-Infrastructure for the Humanities and Social Sciences; and the International Scientific Advisory Board to the CATCH program, NWO, the Netherlands. Hedstrom is a fellow of the Society of American Archivists and recipient of a Distinguished Scholarly Achievement Award from the University of Michigan for her work with archives and cultural heritage preservation in South Africa.
“I am honored to steward this extraordinary interdisciplinary program,” Hedstrom says, “and I look forward to deep engagement with the students in the Museum Studies Program and the museum community.”
Through courses, practicums, and projects, the Museum Studies Program provides students outstanding opportunities to engage intellectually, professionally, and interpersonally with the world of museums. Hedstrom has been actively involved in the program since its revival in 2002, most recently as a member of its steering committee.
Hedstrom replaces Carla Sinopoli, a professor of anthropology and curator in the Museum of Anthropology, who served as director of the program from 2012 to 2018.
Margaret Hedstrom