The University of Tulsa (TU) and Gilcrease Museum partnership is much more than in name only. Featured below are a few of the latest collaboration efforts by TU students who are at Gilcrease daily, furthering scholarship on both campuses.
By the Numbers
(June 2018-Spring 2019)
• 18 TU internships at Gilcrease (graduate and undergraduate)
• Two graduate assistants at Gilcrease
• Three Gilcrease staff teaching Museum Science & Management program classes
Museum Studies at Gilcrease
Each fall, Susan Buchanan, Gilcrease director of collections and chief registrar, and Diana Folsom, Gilcrease director of digital collections, team up to teach Museum Collections and Data Management MSM7073 to TU museum studies graduate students. Additionally, Joanna Didik, chief conservator at Gilcrease, teaches Conservation Principles MSM 7013. Through hands-on experience in the state-of-the-art Helmerich Center for American Research conservation labs to sessions in Anthropology and galleries, TU students are gaining invaluable experience only achievable through museum access.
“The key positions we’ve hired in the digital curation department so far have been graduate students, and they have proven to be among the best and brightest in the country”
– Diana Folsom, Gilcrease Museum director of digital collections.
Gilcrease Junior Board
Spring 2019 will launch the inaugural Gilcrease Junior Board. Made up of TU arts management students, this collaboration was created to fulfill the request of students to better understand the role boards of directors play in cultural institutions. While students will benefit from gaining real-world experience as an advisory committee, Gilcrease will gain invaluable perspectives from the young adults — a highly coveted museum demographic.
History of Photography Class Furthers Museum Research
Always looking for ways to amass content on the museum’s more than 350,000-item collection, Gilcrease teamed up with Associate Professor of Art History Kirsten Olds’ history of photography class during the fall semester. With the help of Gilcrease staff, students researched photographs in the collection for which little information exists. The class resulted in written essays from each student based off their research of selected objects. Additionally, students paired up to create essays on a theme that encapsulated 10 objects in the collection with successful essays being featured on the Gilcrease website. This collaboration is another example of the reciprocal benefits TU students and Gilcrease gain by working together.
“Interning at Gilcrease has allowed me to meet some wonderful people, gain valuable skills and helped me decide what I want to do career-wise . ”
– Lacey Faulkner, TU MSM student