DEBORAH DASH MOORE TO KEYNOTE CAJM 2012   

We welcome as our CAJM 2012 keynote speaker an historian who has helped shape the field of American Jewish history over the past 25 years. Deborah Dash Moore is Director of the Frankel Center for Judaic Studies and Frederick G.L. Huetwell Professor of History at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Prior to that she taught and helped to found a program in Jewish Studies at Vassar College. She has been a supportive adviser to countless scholars, an active participant at national conferences, and a prolific author. Her books include the trilogy At Home in America: Second Generation New York Jews (1981), GI Jews: How World War II Changed a Generation (2004), and To the Golden Cities: Pursuing the American Jewish Dream in Miami and L. A. (1994); the award-winning two-volume Jewish Women in America: An Historical Encyclopedia (1997), which she edited with Paula Hyman; and, as editor, American Jewish Identity Politics (2008), a collection of essays by such notables as Hyman, Hasia Diner, and Jonathan Sarna.  Recently, Moore has been exploring photography and the role of Jewish photographers during the early-to-mid 20th century.  Don't miss her CAJM talk. Save the conference dates:  February 26-28, 2012. 

USHERING IN THE NEW YEAR   

The Jewish New Year is upon us, and our museums are offering a range of special Rosh Hashanah programs. Museums housed in historic synagogues, like the Jewish Museum of Florida and the Museum at Eldridge Street, are able to welcome the public to services. Others are conducting art workshops to create one-of-a-kind honey containers (The Jewish Museum), shofarim (Jewish Museum Milwaukee, which is also offering a holiday cooking demonstration), or a kinetic mosaic that allows participants to change and interchange tiles that represent hopes and dreams (Contemporary Jewish Museum). At Yeshiva University Museum, school groups have been making pop-up Rosh Hashanah cards; the Museum of Jewish Heritage is hosting a holiday storytelling version of Stone Soup with original music (left). At Denver's Mizel Museum, staff have emphasized the "sweetness" we look forward to in 5772 by inviting a local specialist to present on the art and science of beekeeping. Yum.

NEW DIRECTOR AT THE JM:  CLAUDIA GOULD    

This fall, a pacesetter in the world of contemporary art joins The Jewish Museum in New York as its Helen Goldsmith Menschel Director, succeeding Joan Rosenbaum. Since 1999 Claudia Gould has been The Daniel W. Dietrich, II Director of the Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) at the   

University of Pennsylvania. Under her guidance, the ICA tripled its exhibitions and staff, doubled its attendance, and neared completion of a successful endowment campaign.  Gould is known for her

original programming and expansive, interdisciplinary approach to exhibitions, education, and public outreach. Prior to joining the ICA, she was for six years the Executive Director of Artists Space,

the New York City alternative exhibition space and emerging-artist service

organization. Gould was the first Curator of Exhibitions at the Wexner Center for the Arts in Columbus, Ohio, 

IT'S EASY TO CONNECT TO COLLECTIONS 

If managing collections has been a challenge for your institution - whether for reasons of funding, staffing, or expertise - we refer you to a new collections resource. Heritage Preservation, the American Association for State and Local History, and the Institute of Museum and Library Services, have announced the public launch of the Connecting to Collections (C2C) Online Community. The goal of the Community is to help smaller museums, libraries, archives, and historical societies locate reliable preservation resources, and to engage with each other and top professionals in the field. The site includes a Meeting Room that regularly hosts free Webinars with leading conservation professionals; a Featured Resource that highlights new or particularly helpful information resources, changing approximately every two weeks; a Discussion Forum where online community members can post questions or offer assistance; as well as a Calendar and Archive. Check out this useful resource at www.connectingtocollections.org.  Image to left:  Torah scrolls at the Czech Museum.

LOOKING FOR A JOB?  FOR A COLLEAGUE?  

Posting of positions in the Jewish museum field and at  our member museums is just one perq of belonging to CAJM. If you're ready for a change, it's worth browsing our listings. Even more important:  Keep us informed when there's a position to be filled at your institution. We can help you spread the word.  Visit the Career Opportunities page of our website's Professional Development section, accessible to CAJM members after they log in.   *Cartoon text:  "You can walk the walk and talk the talk.  What we need is someone who can blog the blog."  (Courtesy of Tribune Publications, PalomaSue and SchwadRon)