Students and faculty from Tuskegee University participated in a program this past summer that aims to bring young African American students working toward architecture degrees into historic preservation and related career paths. Touching History: Preservation in Practice is a program developed jointly by the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, the National Park Service, and the National Trust for Historic Preservation to raise awareness about the importance of historic preservation and conservation. At the same time, it seeks to engage a new generation of preservationists and complete urgent preservation work at America’s historically black college and university campuses.
Tuskegee architecture students worked on a preservation and conservation project involving window restoration work on the Willcox E building on campus. Kwesi Daniels, an assistant professor and department head of the department of architecture noted that “the Willcox Trades Buildings were designed and built by Tuskegee faculty and students using bricks they made here on campus. Now, nearly a century after their construction, our students are breathing new life into them — and into our focus on teaching the trades.”
“Investing in our future preservation leaders is one of the most important things the National Park Service can do to further its mission,” said National Park Service Acting Deputy Director for Operations David Vela. “We are dedicated to providing access to real-world experiences for our nation’s youth and young professionals so that together we can preserve our shared historic and cultural resources.”
Congrats on this Achievement. Thoughts and Prayers to Student and faculty members whose families are in the Bahamas.