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2006 Preserve America Summit Preservation Ethic Panel Seeks Public Comment
Tell Us How You Would Build a Preservation Ethic and Public Appreciation for History
Please share your thoughts with us. How would you build a preservation ethic and public appreciation for history? Email us at presethiccomments@achp.gov by Sept. 8.
What is a preservation ethic anyway? Read on.
On May 31, 2006, Mrs. Laura Bush, First Lady of the United States and Honorary Chair of the Preserve America program, announced that, in cooperation with the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP), she will lead a national Preserve America Summit in October 2006 to mark the 40th anniversary of the passage of the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (NHPA).
Many of the people who will be participating in the New Orleans summit have been placed on a number of expert panels to review the major components of the national historic preservation program in advance of the summit, and make recommendations designed to improve the nation’s historic preservation programs and policy.
A panel of experts representing historic preservation, education, history and related fields met in Detroit, Michigan, on August 8, 2006, to begin consideration of the issue: “Building a Preservation Ethic and Public Appreciation for History.”
While the NHPA grew out of a grassroots desire to preserve tangible existing places of historic significance, it may be true that, beyond today's historic preservation and history education communities, the public at large has an insufficient appreciation of their value and importance to society. The task of this Preserve America Summit panel is to examine this issue.
Please tell us: How can the significance and value of our authentic heritage resources and appreciation for the importance of knowing and understanding history be more broadly integrated into our national consciousness? Or, is the present situation in regard to historic preservation and broad public appreciation of the importance of history education already sufficient in America?"
Please submit suggestions or comments, as succinctly as possible, via e-mail. Concepts or observations should be sent no later than September 8, 2006
The e-mail address for comments is: presethiccomments@achp.gov
The co-chairs of the panel are the following:
Jack Williams, an Expert Member of the ACHP, principal of Hoshide Williams Architects
Morgan Brown, Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education
Heather MacIntosh, President, Preservation Action
James G. Basker, President, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
The other members of the panel include the following:
Jane Cassady, Management and Information Unit Manager, Georgia State Historic Preservation Office
Spencer Crew, Executive Director and CEO, National Underground Railroad and Freedom Center
Kate Fermoile, Vice President for Exhibits and Education, the Brooklyn Historical Society
Jeremy Finch, Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation
Rosanne Lichatin, 2005 Preserve America History Teacher of the Year
Wilson Martin, State Historic Preservation Officer, Utah
Libby O’Connell, Senior Vice President/Chief Historian, The History Channel
Lee Ann Potter, Director of Education and Volunteer Program, National Archives and Records Administration
Daniel Rice, President and CEO, Ohio and Erie Canalway Coalition
Noré Winter, President and Owner, Winter and Company
Alternate co-chairs:
Doug Herbert, Special Assistant, Office of Innovation and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education
Anthony Napoli, Education Coordinator, Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History
Preserve America is a White House initiative that encourages and supports community efforts to preserve and enjoy our priceless cultural and natural heritage. The goals of the initiative include a greater shared knowledge about the nation’s past, strengthened regional identities and local pride, increased local participation in preserving the country’s cultural and natural heritage assets, and support for the economic vitality of our communities. For more information please see www.preserveamerica.gov or www.achp.gov.
Posted August 25, 2006