Integrating Service and Experience

Abstract

In the past five years the Rubin Museum of Art has had significant shifts in the organizational structure and interrelation of visitor services and education due to various financial and administrative changes. Though varying levels of integration have existed in the institution's history, due to budget constraints in early 2009, the two separate visitor functions have been combined into a united department with the focus of holistic visitor education, redefining roles of educators, administrators, and service providers. This article will explore the ways in which the Rubin Museum of Art transformed the Education Department to incorporate a larger administrative role within the museum, the visitor research that led to the new integrated model and the theoretical, financial, and personal outcomes that manifested through the transition.