Michigan Museums Association names Ron Bloomfield a 2026 Colleague Champion

The Michigan Museums Association (MMA) has recognized Ron Bloomfield as a 2026 Colleague Champion during their annual conference October 21. Bloomfield is director of the Central Michigan University Museum of Cultural & Natural History and CMU’s Museum Studies program. 

The Colleague Champion award recognizes recipients’ work in the areas of exhibit design, advocacy work, fundraising efforts, community engagement, collaboration, improving museum accessibility, and being helpful colleagues, mentors, and leaders in the field.

Bloomfield demonstrated these qualities while working with CMU Museum Studies students on the museum’s latest exhibit, Magic Circles: Society through Game Spaces. The exhibit opened in Rowe Hall in March 2026 as a collaboration between Museum Studies students and students with the Center of Learning Through Games and Simulations (CLGS). With the CMU Museum being a laboratory for students, Bloomfield emphasized a student-led approach and provided students with opportunities to gain valuable hands-on skills every step of the way.

Bloomfield is one of 48 museum professionals from around the state of Michigan recognized during the MMA ceremony in Oakland County. This year's conference theme was Stronger Together: Empowering the Michigan Museum Community.

The Michigan Museums Association aims to advance Michigan’s museum community through learning, advocacy, and collaboration and includes art, history, science, military + maritime, youth museums in addition to aquariums, zoos, botanical gardens, arboretums, historic sites, and science and technology centers.