26 MUSEUMS CONCENTRATION/STUDENT PERSPECTIVE THE MUSEUMS CONCENTRATION CONTINUES TO provide students a foundation in the history of museums and the critical issues they engage within a broad range of scholarly disciplines. Founded eight years ago and directed by SCMA director Jessica Nicoll with Charlene Shang Miller, associate educator for academic programs, the Museums Concentration engages students to explore theory and professional practice through deep connections with museums and academic study. Ten students in the class of 2017 graduated with a concentration in museums. The advisory committee admitted 14 new students this past year (one in the class of 2018; 13 in the class of 2019) for a total of 35 students. The variety of majors represented includes anthropology, art, art history, classical studies, comparative literature, history, medieval studies, neuroscience, East Asian languages, English, geosciences, government, philosophy and sociology. Students are required to complete two practical experiences in museums and have recently interned at the Carnegie Science Center, Eric Carle Museum, Library of Congress, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Sedgeford Historical and Archaeological Research Project, USC Pacific Asia Museum and Visual AIDS. Several retreats facilitated by Jessica Bacal, director of the Wurtele Center for Work & Life, and SCMA staff provided forums for reflection, dialogue,and writing that resulted in essays incorporated into the students’ digital portfolios. MUSEUMS CONCENTRATION For the fall 2016 Museums Concentration gateway course, MUX 118: The History and Critical Issues of Museums, the final session featured Smith alumna Beverly Morgan-Welch ‘74. Beverly graduated from Smith with a BA in theatre and speech, and she returned to receive a Smith Medal in 2009 for her postgraduate achievements. Since 2015, Beverly has served as the director of external affairs for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African American History and Culture (NMAAHC) in Washington, D.C. Prior to taking her position there, she worked for 16 years as the executive director of the Museum of African American History in Boston. Beverly’s lecture, open to all, was titled Museums and African American History: The Opening of a New Smithsonian Institution. She shared insights and personal reflections on the process of developing and presenting NMAAHC’s collection in a brand-new building on the National Mall. Thanks to close collaboration with Smith’s Office of Inclusion, Diversity and Equity, her visit also included a tea gathering with the Black Students Alliance and an evening reception with faculty and staff of color. BEVERLY MORGAN-WELCH ’74 ABOVE: 2017 Museums Concentrators during their field trip to the Wadsworth Atheneum