April 26, 2024

Honors Students Explore Washington, D.C. Architecture

group of students posed in front of Union Station.

Honors scholars in front of Union Station during the fall 14 field trip.

In August, incoming UMW Honors Scholars participated in a common reading experience, reading the book “The Devil in the White City” by Eric Larson. To expand on the theme of the planning and architecture of the Chicago’s World’s Fair, Andrea Smith, Department of Historic Preservation, led the fall field for the honors program on Saturday Oct. 4. Twenty six honors students, Professor of Economics Steve Greenlaw, Professor of Chemistry Kelli Slunt, and Assistant Professor of Environmental Science Melanie Szulczewski enjoyed learning about the urban planning and contributions of Daniel Burnham (one of the main characters in “The Devil in the White City”) while exploring Union Station, The National Mall, and the National Building Museum.

Smith Publishes Preservation Education Paper

Assistant Professor of Historic Preservation Andréa Livi Smith’s article “Development of a Preservation Planning Board Game” was published in Preservation Education: Sharing Best Practices and Finding Common Ground edited by Barry L. Stiefel and Jeremy C. Wells (University Press of New England).

Smith Speaks at Preservation Symposium

Andréa Livi Smith, assistant professor and director of the Center for Historic Preservation, gave an invited talk at the Directions in Twenty-First Century Preservation Symposium. The symposium was organized by Historic New England and hosted by Roger Williams University in Bristol, RI on March 29. The national audience included students from over a dozen institutions was well as professionals and researchers. Smith’s talk, entitled “Don’t be That Guy,” discussed the importance of garnering and maintaining allies in the process of preservation.

Andréa Livi Smith Presents at Conferences

Andréa Livi Smith presented at three national/international conferences in October.

  • Smith presented a paper on the urban renewal on the Eastern edge of Paris at the Association for Preservation Technology International’s annual conference, titled “Preserving the Metropolis” held in New York City.
  • Smith led a session on the links between sustainability, public health, and historic preservation at the annual conference of the National Trust for Historic Preservation held in Indianapolis, Ind. Along with Dr. Smith, Dr. Tracy Hadden-Loh, director of research at the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and Nathan Holth, author of HistoricBridges.org provided context on the importance of blending the approaches for effective preservation.
Additional details about the conferences and Smith’s activities can be found on twitter at @smithpres with tags: #issotl13, #aptnyc, and #presconf respectively.

IMPACT OF SHUTDOWN GROWING BY THE DAY (The Free Lance-Star)

Andréa Livi Smith Hosts Preservation Education Symposium

Andréa Livi Smith, assistant professor and director of the Center for Historic Preservation, organized and hosted the second Undergraduate Historic Preservation Education Symposium (UHPES) on the UMW campus on June 20-22. Dr. Smith analyzed findings from the first symposium, held in 2010, culminating in an article published in the current edition of Preservation Education and Research. This second iteration of UHPES brought together faculty in historic preservation from undergraduate as well as graduate programs from around the country. Pedagogy, curriculum development, and student placement were the main topics of discussion. Findings from the second UHPES will be posted on the Center for Historic Preservation website. The event was held with the generous support of the Hofer Fund.

Andréa Livi Smith Presents at International Preservation Conference

Andréa Livi Smith, assistant professor and director of the Center for Historic Preservation, presented two papers at the Preservation Education Conference held in Providence, R.I., Sept. 7-9.

The first paper, entitled “Historic Preservation 101”, discusses curricular and pedagogical issues in the introductory course and is derived from Dr. Smith’s award of the College of Arts and Sciences Curricular Innovation Grant. The second paper, entitled “The Development of a Preservation Planning Board Game” discusses Dr. Smith’s most recent senior-level laboratory project and its effectiveness as a capstone experience.