The Marie C. Malaro Excellence in Research and Writing Award

The Marie Malaro Excellence in Research and Writing Award honors the achievements of Professor Emerita Marie Malaro, former director of the Museum Studies Program and an American Association of Museums Centennial Honoree. Professor Emerita Malaro co-authored A Legal Primer on Managing Museum Collections, the primary resource on law and ethics of collections management. She was the lead lecturer and co-instructor of MSTD Collections Management: Legal and Ethical Issues for the Distance Education Program from 2004 to 2013.
 
Each year up to three graduate students are honored for excellence in research and writing in the field of Museum Studies. Submissions are in fulfillment of the writing requirement for the Master of Arts in Museum Studies and Museum Studies Certificate. After presenting their paper topics at the annual Marie C. Malaro Symposium, each recipient receives an award of $100 and a certificate.

Malaro Award Guidelines and Cover Sheet

 

Award Winners

Keynote
Dr. Anthea Hartig, Director of The National Museum of American History

2020
Sara Blad The Rijksmuseum, The Golden Age, and the Struggle to Adjust to a Rapidly Changing Culture
Jonathan Edelman Empathy and Technology: Digital Testimony in Holocaust Museums
Sydney Sanderson Critical Thinking on the Valle of Museums' Collections in Storage: Is the Justification of Potential Research Enough?

2019
Gillian Hanna, Decolonization Practices in Museums: Theoretical Precedent and Practical Applications
Elana Oser, Redefining Multisensory Experiences in Museums
Delia Titzell, Stewards in a Storm: How Collections Professionals Can be Protectors and Leaders in a Field Imperiled by Changing Climates

Keynote
Ms. Rainey Tisdale, co-author of Active Collections (2018) and Creativity in Museum Practice (2014) from Boston, Massachusetts. Ms. Tisdell will discuss how we might challenge museums to engage critically with questions of resonance and sustainability in order to create more resilient and relevant institutions.

2018
Meredith Hamme, To Whom are Museums Accountable?: Standing to Sue in ‘The Trustees of the Corcoran Gallery of Art v. The District of Columbia’
Emma Cowan-Young, The Downfall of the Newseum: A Case Study in Founder's Syndrome and Financial Mismanagement
Eden Slone, Two Ends of the Spectrum: NAGPRA Compliance in Museums

Honorable Mentions
Kate Loughran 
Madeline Barnes 
 
Keynote 
Cinnamon Catlin-Legutko, President and CEO of the Abbe Museum in Bar Harbor, ME.

2017
Melissa Grunder, Ivory and Its Place in Museum Collections
Alyx LeBlanc, Collecting Culture as a Hot-Button Issue: A Case Study of the Batchelor Acquisition at the National Museum of American History
Mary Kate Robbett, Dance as Numen: Making the Case for Participatory Movement Programs in Traditional History Museums

Honorable Mentions
Jessica Bauserman, Re:Collecting. Artists reflect, re-collect, and retell the stories of American History
Sarah Cappo, Glass Cases, Glass Ceilings: Gender and  Leadership in Prominent Art Museums
Bianca Saunders, Eccentricity Meets Education: The Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum of the Twenty-First Century
 
Keynote
Stephanie Stebich, the Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian America Art Museum

2016
Daleanice Barkins, A Call to Action: The Necessary Diversification of the Museum Workforce
Kathleen E. King, Exploring the Concept of a 'Legacy' Collection: A Study on German WWI Paper Textiles at the National Museum of American History
Dara Shore, Subsisting and Co-Existing: An Analysis and Client-Based Strategy for Addressing Subsistence Digging
 
Keynote 
Sally Yerkovich, Director of the Institute of Museum Ethics at Seton Hall
 
2015
Julia Falkowki, Director 2.0? Assessing the Leadership Success of Nina Simon
Caitlyn Reizman, Ubiquitous RFID Computing for Personalized Content Delivery in Museums
Kamilah Stinnett, Selective Memories and the Civil Rights Movement in Museum Exhibitions
 
Keynote
Erin Carlson Mast, Executive Director of President Lincoln's Cottage

2014
Ayla Amon, Props of Prestige: Postcolonial Identity in Moroccan National Museums
Luisa M. Dispenzirie, Student Trustees: A Study of Governance Best Practices at Academic Galleries and Museums
Kelsie Torrenti, Chasing Authenticity: Re-Examining the Authentic Experience in Historic House Museums
 
Keynote
Lonnie G. Bunch, Founding Director of the National Museum of African American History and Culture

2013
Janessa Doucette, The Price of Value: Commercial Fossil Trade and Natural History Museums
Elizabeth Dowdle, Tarnished Silver: The Treatment of the Sevso Treasure and other Unprovenanced Antiquities
Andrew Raker, Visitors Aren't Allowed Inside Closets: The Mislabeling and Hiding of LGBT People in Museums
 
Keynote 
Dr. Nancy Proctor, Head of Mobile Strategy and Initiatives, Smithsonian Institution

2012
Samantha Bass, Exhibiting the Sacred
Dixie Clough, "People Follow People": The Key to a Successful YouTube Strategy for Museums
Meghan Mulkerin, "Says Who? Objects and Attribution in Museum Records"
 
Keynote
Alex Nyerges, Director, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
 
2011
Lauren Andersen, Exhibiting Human Remains in the Museum: A Discussion of Ethics and Museum Practice
Jan T. Letowski, Museum-Making: Transitioning from the Private Collection to Public Museum
Kristen N. Quarles, Give it Back or Get Out: Cultural Property "Battles," Egypt, and the Musee du Louvre
 
Keynote
Marsha Semmel, Deputy Director for Museums and Director for Strategic Partnerships, Institute for Museums and Library Services
 
2010
Jessie Cohen, Finders Keepers?: The Machu Picchu Collection
Lauren Jaeger, “Bittersweet Harvest”: The Collecting and Exhibiting the Bracero Program
Helen Wirka, Why the American Association of Museums Should Look to Revised Disposal Policy for the Museum Association of Great Britain for Guidance
 
Keynote
Richard Kurin, Under Secretary for History, Art and Culture, Smithsonian Institution
 
2009
Kristin Bayans, Habitat Immersion' and Asia Trails at the Smithsonian Zoological Park
Shira Gladstone, President Lincoln's Cottage: A Case Study
Katherine Maas, Lessons from the Destruction at the Iraq Museum: What Museums Must Do to Protect Cultural Property during Armed Conflict
 
Keynote
Elizabeth Merritt, Founding Director, Center for the Future of Museums, American Association of Museums
 
2008
Alexis Ainsworth, Are Cypriot Coins Worth Saving?: The Battle over Import Restrictions on Coins
Jillian Finkle, Zoo and Aquarium Theater
Marianna Horton, VARA After Buchel: The Right to Display Unfinished Works of Visual Art
 
Keynotes 
Deborah Hull-Walski, Collections Manager, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution and David R. Hunt, Museum Specialist, Department of Anthropology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution

2007
Rena Lipman, Jewish Cultural Reconstruction Reconsidered: Should the Jewish Religious Objects Distributed Around the World After WWII be Returned to Europe?
Angelina Ong, Museums in Non-Western Contexts: Challenging the Popular Paradigm
Randall A. Williams, African American Museums and Financial Sustainability
 
Keynote 
Lonnie Bunch, Director, Museum of African American History and Culture, Smithsonian Institution

2006
Anna Ippolito, Collaborative International Exhibitions in the United States: A Call for Ethical Guidelines
Cassie Mancer, Giving Voice: Issues in the Exhibition of Oral Narratives
Katie Myers, NPS Museum Professionals and Competitive Sourcing
 
Keynote
Edward H. Able, President and CEO, American Association of Museums

2005
Elizabeth V. Eubanks, Managing Forensic Evidence in the Custody of Museums: Legal Considerations for the Establishments of Guidelines at the National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution
Arianna Fogelman, Tradition, Urbanity, and "Colonial Legacy" at the Ghana National Museum
Michelle Beth Lee, The Business of Dinosaurs: The Chicago Field Museum's Nonprofit Enterprise
 
Keynote
Stephen E. Weil, Senior Scholar, Center for Education and Museum Studies, Smithsonian Institution