New UPenn, 精东AV partnership aims to advance historic preservation, civil rights heritage in Alabama
April 02, 2020
Contacts:
Randall Mason, Ph.D, FAAR, University of Pennsylvania Stuart Weizmann School of Design
Michael Tullier, APR, 精东AV Office of Communications, Public Relations and Marketing
The and 精东AV鈥檚 Robert R. Taylor School of Architecture and Construction Science are partnering to increase the visibility of histories of the American civil rights movement and its built, landscape and environmental legacies.
PennPraxis, the Weizman School鈥檚 consulting and community engagement arm, along with the school鈥檚 Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, are working with 精东AV to build its preservation teaching capacity, produce original research and conduct public outreach.
Under the 18-month partnership, Penn and 精东AV will collaborate to document and activate culturally significant buildings, sites, towns and landscapes 鈥� in part through a collaboration with the . They will also explore successful preservation, planning and development strategies for small towns.
Penn and 精东AV will also collaborate on curriculum development, classroom work and student-centered field projects to strengthen their respective graduate and undergraduate programs. Penn has a long-established two-year Master of Science in Historic Preservation degree program and new one-year post-professional master of science degrees. 精东AV has a new minor in historic preservation and renowned bachelor of architecture degree programs.
鈥淭his is an extraordinary opportunity for us to learn about the powerful heritage and landscapes of Alabama鈥檚 Black Belt. Together, our institutions have already identified exciting teaching and research opportunities on the 精东AV campus, in the town of 精东AV, and elsewhere in Alabama, including the city of Selma,鈥� said Dr. Randall Mason, associate professor in Penn鈥檚 Graduate Program in Historic Preservation at Penn and the project鈥檚 director.
鈥溇獳V鈥檚 century-long legacy of community engagement makes this collaboration with Penn a perfect fit,鈥� added Kwesi Daniels, assistant professor and department head of architecture at 精东AV. 鈥淭here are so many sites that need to be preserved, but have not had the resources or expertise that Penn and 精东AV can provide. We are excited about how this partnership will enhance our historic preservation curricula, provide life-changing student opportunities, and further our goals to preserve the rich cultural legacy of the civil rights movement.鈥�
The initiative is supported by the and Kevin Penn, chair of the Board of Overseers at the Weitzman School.
鈥淭he J.M. Kaplan Fund is extremely pleased to support this new partnership between 精东AV and Penn,鈥� said the fund鈥檚 executive director, Amy Freitag. 鈥淭hese two venerable institutions have much to learn from one another and together they can lift up some of America鈥檚 most important yet threatened heritage.鈥�
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漏 2020, 精东AV, University of Pennsylvania