Chapman University and Catalina Island Museum have signed a memorandum of agreement to execute an educational partnership between the two Southern California institutions.
“As a beginning, we are discussing possibilities with our departments of English, History, Art, World Languages, and the Center for Cultural and Curricular Studies,” said Jennifer D. Keene, Ph.D., Dean of Wilkinson College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences. “There are numerous possible curricular collaborations between Chapman and the Catalina Island Museum,” Keene added.
“The year 2020 is ‘The Year of Education’ for the museum,” said Executive Director Julie Perlin Lee. “We are very excited to enter into this agreement with Chapman University. This is an aspirational relationship for us because it shows that we at the museum are establishing significant links with higher education for the first time in Avalon.”
Located in Avalon, Catalina Island Museum’s exhibitions include art, history and culture. The museum’s collection includes ephemera, oral histories, photographs, paintings and more. Its collection concerning the history of Catalina includes artifacts from more than 8,000 years of human settlement on the island.
“From our standpoint, the collaboration has great potential to demonstrate the real-life applicability of degrees in the arts, humanities and social sciences,” said Chapman University President Daniele C. Struppa. “As a university, we seek to connect all of our students with unique opportunities for internships and study. We see many possibilities for this relationship.”
“The educational partnership collaboration between Chapman University and the Catalina Island Museum provides an exciting new chapter for both entities that draws Catalina Island residents closer to the coast for educational opportunities while providing Chapman University new resources right on the ocean,” said Dr. Donald W. Wise, a Board Member and Trustee of the Catalina Island Museum.
About Chapman University
Founded in 1861, Chapman University is California’s third largest private university. Chapman is categorized by the Carnegie Classification as an R2 “high research activity” institution, is nationally-ranked by U.S. News & World Report and offers personalized education to more than 9,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The campus has produced a Rhodes Scholar, been named a top producer of Fulbright Scholars and hosts a chapter of Phi Beta Kappa, the nation’s oldest and most prestigious honor society. Based in the City of Orange, Chapman also includes the Harry and Diane Rinker Health Science Campus in Irvine. In 2019, the university opened its 11th college, Fowler School of Engineering, in its newest facility, Keck Center for Science and Engineering. Learn more about Chapman University: www.chapman.edu
About Catalina Island Museum
The Catalina Island Museum offers the best in art and history exhibitions, music and dance performances, lectures by guest speakers from all over the world, and the finest in silent, documentary and international film. Open seven days a week, the new Ada Blanche Wrigley Schreiner Building is located in the heart of Avalon at 217 Metropole Avenue. For more information, the museum may be reached by phone at 310-510-2414 or at its website: CatalinaMuseum.org.
