But Bomar, recently named as The University of Alabama Museums Executive Director after serving as Interim Director since 2013, is now thinking 10 years into the future.
“Broadly speaking, I want UA Museums to gain national notoriety among university museums and triple our educational impact in 10 years,” he said.
The hiring of a curator in 1831 to produce exhibits in the Rotunda that once stood where Gorgas Library is today makes the University museum the oldest university museum in the country, he said.
“The University of Alabama should be a national leader in teaching, research and public service through its museum system,” he said.
Bomar leaves behind a Moundville Archaeological Park that has seen visitation increases after a $5 million renovation and is currently undergoing a $3 million riverbank project. He said he hopes the new director will continue projects like adding smart phone web content to their cell phone audio tour.
“[I also] hope that we will eventually be able to raise funds for the implementation of additional projects in the Moundville master plan beyond the museum, such as the construction of a modern conference/retreat center with lodging and a new orientation center with changing exhibit ?gallery,” he said.
Betsy Irwin, education outreach coordinator at Moundville, said Bomar is a proven fundraiser, a quality she called vitally important. She said she expects Bomar to achieve accreditation with the American Alliance of Museums.
“Moundville Archaeological Park and the Alabama Museum of Natural History have been working towards accreditation for a few years, and we need to continue moving forward in this process,” she said.
She said she hopes Bomar, who has taught a museum studies course for six years, will institute a museum studies program.
“Such a program would benefit Alabama students who want to go into the museum field,” she said. “UA Museums personnel have a unique ?perspective that I believe would enhance UA’s trifold mission of teaching, research and service.”
In his new position, Bomar will work with not only Moundville, but also other University museums sites like the Gorgas House and ?the Arboretum.
“Over the last 26 years, I have worked in every type of museum represented by UA Museums, including museums of history and natural history, several outdoor heritage sites and a historic house museum,” he said. “I have also worked in museum education, collections ?and administration.”
Bomar said his first priority was to bring together his staff and board to develop a strategic growth plan. He said he hopes to expand museum studies course offerings and better prepare students for museum careers.
Bomar said the diverse collections held by the University, from fossils to textiles, have been valuable resources for research on a national scale.
“I want to expand our role as facilitators of research and do far more to bring the fruits of that knowledge to the general public through state-of-the-art exhibits and the expansion of our quality educational programs,” he said. “That’s what museums do best. We are community centers for lifelong learning and critical thinking.”
