The Museum Studies Program (MSP) has been allocated administrative space in the new addition at the U-M Museum of Art (UMMA). The Charles Sawyer Center for Museum Studies is named in honor of Sawyer, director emeritus of UMMA and the founding director of what was known from the 1960s to the 1990s as the Museum Practice Program (MPP).

Sawyer, 97, spoke enthusiastically during a Sept. 12 reception about many leaders in the museum field nationwide who began their training in the MPP. Sawyer’s long history in the art world included his service during World War II, when he reclaimed works of art looted by Nazi Germany.

“Charlie has been a wonderful friend and mentor ever since I arrived in Ann Arbor, and I can’t think of anything more moving and important than recognizing his legacy at this transformative moment in the museum’s and the program’s history,” said UMMA director James Steward.

In addition to a dedicated place to meet for seminars and to gather informally, the Center will allow students to be in daily contact with UMMA’s collections, exhibitions and professional staff.

The center will be housed in the lower level of the 57,000-square-foot Maxine and Stuart Frankel and the Frankel Family Wing of UMMA. Since its re-launch in 2002, the MSP has occupied temporary space in Haven Hall. It is an autonomous unit within the Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studies offering a graduate certificate that complements a master’s degree or doctorate in disciplines across the University.

The MSP hopes to raise $150,000 for the Sawyer Center. For more information, visit http://www.umich.edu/~ummsp.