TACOMA, Wash. – LeMay – America’s Car Museum (ACM) has established a partnership with McPherson College to promote both institutions and their work in automotive preservation and education.
Through the alliance, ACM, set to open in June 2012, will provide vehicles and educational opportunities for McPherson College, a liberal arts college located in McPherson, Kan., that offers the country’s only four-year degree program in automotive restoration, according to ACM.
ACM is dedicated to preserving more than a century of automotive history, and will showcase rotating exhibits, an educational center, library, a 3.5-acre show field, theatre, café and meeting facilities. ACM will feature cars of all shapes and sizes, ranging from Fords, LaSalles and Subarus to Jeeps, Minis and DeLoreans. The 165,000-square-foot museum is situated 30 miles south of Seattle and in the shadow of Mt. Rainier.
“Education is at the core of our mission at America’s Car Museum,” said David Madeira, president and CEO of ACM. ACM will provide a broad range of opportunities for all ages including traditional school programs. I am excited about the McPherson College alliance because it enables us to immediately serve the needs of young people seeking careers in the automotive field and to serve the needs of the collector community. We simply could not have a better educational delivery partner than the well-respected McPherson College program.”
The museum says the relationship provides an outlet for ACM to expand on its educational mission, as it will offer regular internships to McPherson College students providing practical work experience with more than 500 vintage cars at ACM. The museum also will supply cars to McPherson College for on-campus use in automotive restoration and preservation courses, including work on project vehicles.
“America’s Car Museum is providing a valuable opportunity for our students to learn by doing, applying their education in the classroom to practical field work in automotive restoration and preservation,” said Michael Schneider, president of McPherson College. “I look forward to a rewarding partnership with the museum, and our students are looking forward to working with some really great cars and people.”
ACM and McPherson College also plan to co-host an annual symposium for the collector and enthusiast communities. Initial plans call for the symposia to alternately take place at ACM and the McPherson campus and will feature well-known experts in automotive history, preservation and restoration as well. Symposia will also tackle important issues of the day regarding collection management, governmental regulation and financial concerns.
The agreement also calls for collaborative efforts in fundraising and publicity to support student internships, scholarships and joint educational programs.
