Los Angeles -- President and CEO of the California Science Center Jeffrey N. Rudolph has been elected to chair the American Association of Museums (AAM) Board of Directors for a two-year term. As the national service organization representing the museum community, the American Association of Museums addresses the needs of museums to enhance their ability to serve the public. AAM disseminates information on current standards and best practices and provides professional development for staff to ensure that museums contribute to public education in its broadest sense and protect and preserve our cultural heritage. Since its founding in 1906, AAM has grown to more than 15,800 members, including over 10,000 museum professionals and trustees, 2,300 corporate members, and nearly 3,000 museums.

Rudolph remarked, "This organization is a positive force in the museum world. I am honored to be elected as chair and look forward to guiding the Association through its Centennial Year in 2006." Rudolph, who has served at the California Science Center for more than 20 years, brings a wide range of experience to the AAM chair position.

Most notably, he provided the leadership for the planning, design, fundraising and implementation of the California Science Center Master Plan, which transformed the California Museum of Science and Industry into the new California Science Center. The Science Center has served more than 9 million visitors since it opened in 1998. Rudolph also created an award-winning Exposition Park Master Plan to guide the redevelopment of Exposition Park in central Los Angeles.

Rudolph is Past President of the Association of Science-Technology Centers. He also serves on the Boards of the National Health Science Consortium, Science Museum Exhibits Collaborative, and Museum Trustees Association Advisory Council of Directors. He has previously served as Chair of the Western Museums Association Annual Meeting, and as a member of the Board of the California Association of Museums, the Organizing Committee for the World Congress of Science Centers and the National Academy of Science's Defense Reinvestment Advisory Board.

He serves on the Board of the Exposition Park Intergenerational Community Center and served on the City of Los Angeles Mayor's Convention Center Task Force. Rudolph is often a featured speaker at Science Center and Museum Conferences worldwide and frequently conducts accreditation reviews and assessments for the American Association of Museums and the Association of Science-Technology Centers.

Rudolph received an M.B.A. from Yale University and a B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley.

Editor's Note:
California Science Center is located at 700 State Drive - Exposition Park, Los Angeles, CA 90037. Open daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Day. Admission to Science Center exhibits is free. (The current special exhibition BODY WORLDS – The Anatomical Exhibition of Real Human Bodies charges admission and is open extended hours. Please see our website for details.) IMAX Theater tickets range in price from $4.50 to $7.50. Both the Science Center and IMAX Theater are wheelchair accessible. Parking is $6; visitors can enter the parking lot at 39th and Figueroa Street. For general information, phone (323) SCIENCE or visit www.californiasciencecenter.org.