Learn more about the students, faculty, and alumni of the MTSU Public History program by looking at our newsletters. See also: the newsletters and annual reports of the Center for Historic Preservation; the annual reports of the Center for Popular Music.

Fall 2016

Highlights: new professor Dr. Molly Taylor Poleskey; News from the Centers ~ Center for Historic Preservation, Albert Gore Research Center, Center for Popular Music; incoming PhD students' profiles; news from Rutherford County Archives; alumni spotlight, Martha Akins; graduating students for the Spring and Summer of 2016; MA internships and PhD residencies

Spring 2016

Highlights: Dr. Rebecca Conard, retiring faculty member; News from the Centers- Albert Gore Research Center and Center for Historic Preservation; Alumni Highlight- Norman Burns II; student awards, presentations, and papers; overview of Torren Gatson's PhD residency at Spelman College

Fall 2015
Highlights: Dr. Louis Kyriakoudes, new director of the Albert Gore research Center; a recap of the 2015 Maymester Experience with visiting public historian Carol Kammen; the opening of John Early Museum in Nashville; alumni spotlight on Nancy Adgent; recent graduates and new students; and the many outstanding accomplishments of students, faculty, and program partners. 

Spring 2015
Highlights: MTSU’s involvement with NCPH: History on the Edge; Public History in International Perspective with Dr. Serge Noiret; Alumni Gathering recap; Keeping up with Recent Graduates; Spring 2015 Graduates; New Exhibit Premiere at Central Magnet School; Angie Sirna receives post-doc; MLK Day March; Conferences attended, papers presented, and awards; News from the Centers ~ Center for Historic Preservation, Albert Gore Research Center, Center for Popular Music.

Fall 2014
Highlights: MTSU Students leave mark on Jekyll Island’s historic district; New exhibit “Warriors with Words and Faith” open at the Albert Gore Research Center; Alumni Spotlight; Fall 2014 new students and graduates; Ph.D. Residencies; Of note, conferences attended, and papers presented; News from the Centers ~ Center for Historic Preservation, Albert Gore Research Center, Center for Popular Music, Rutherford County Archives; NCPH 2015 News.

Spring 2014
Highlights: MTSU history grads form New Society of American Archivists student chapter; Museum Management class develops and premiers “Cornerstone of the Community” exhibit; Alumni Spotlights; Spring 2014 new students and graduates; Awards, conferences attended, and papers presented; News from the Centers ~ Center for Historic Preservation, Albert Gore Research Center, Center for Popular Music, Rutherford County Archives; NCPH 2015 News.

Fall 2013
Highlights: New faculty member Dr. Kathryn Sikes; the 2013 Maymester Experience; M. A. Alumni Spotlights; Fall 2013 new students; paper presentations and publications; Summer 2013 internships; Student papers at the Oral History Association Conference; News from the Centers ~ Center for Historic Preservation, Albert Gore Research Center, Center for Popular Music, Rutherford County Archives.

Spring 2013
Highlights: New faculty member Dr. Kelly Ann Kolar; the Maymester Experience with Dr. David Thelen; News from the Centers ~ Center for Historic Preservation, Center for Popular Music, Albert Gore Research Center; Ph.D. alumni spotlights; Spring 2013 graduates and new students; student presentations and awards.

Fall 2012
Highlights:  Workshop on disability inclusion at historic sites; 2012 Maymester experience and "An Evening with Nikki Giovanni"; Alumni Spotlights on John Lodl, Rutherford County Archives and Kristen Luetkemeier, National Park Service; News from the Centers ~ Center for Historic Preservation, Center for Popular Music, Albert Gore Research Center; scholarships and awards; student internships and residencies. 

Spring 2012
Highlights:  Life at Wynnewood archaeological exhibit; Strickland Scholar Marla Miller; 2012 Field School, Life in the Bottoms; Alumni Spotlights on Carol Roberts, director of preservation services, TSLA, and Norman Burns, executive director, Maymont Foundation; News from the Centers ~ Center for Historic Preservation, Center for Popular Music, Albert Gore Research Center; student and alumni presentations and awards; Spring 2012 graduates and new students.

Fall 2011
Highlights: 2011 Public History Field School: Finding Historic Cemetery Community; Preserving Evergreen Graveyard; Alumni Spotlights on New South Associates, Nashville office, and Thomason & Associates, Nashville; News from the Centers ~ Center for Historic Preservation, Center for Popular Music, Albert Gore Research Center; current students and their accomplishments; alumni news and notes.

Spring 2011
Highlights: This Cruel War: Rutherford County Experiences the Civil War traveling exhibit; "Finding Rutherford County - Cemetery Community" May term field school at Stones River National Battlefield; Ph.D. and M.A. graduations; new students; professional residencies; awards, presentations, and publications; news from our partners - the Center for Historic Preservation, the Center for Popular Music, the Gore Center, and Stones River National Battlefield; public history in the community; alumni spotlights - Ashleigh Oatts and Scott Stroh; web resources.

Fall 2010
Highlights: CRM field school at Ft. Vancouver; Distinguished Visiting Public Historian Dr. Stephanie Toothman; Dr. Ellen Garrison retirement; new students; awards, presentations, and publications; internships and graduations; James Havron, Jr. joins Gore Center staff; CHP Hands-on-History Work Day at Matt Gardner Homestead; new online resources for History Department.

Winter 2009
Highlights: Dr. Martha Norkunas joins faculty; Distinguished Visiting Public Historian Dr. Spencer Crew; ACA Exam; Shacklett's Photography conservation project; internships and graduations; alumni spotlight: Kent Whitworth, Director, Kentucky Historical Society; in memoriam: Dr. Thaddeus Smith.

Summer 2008
Highlights: Distinguished Visiting Public Historian Michael Tomlan; "Uncovering Cemetery: A Cultural Landscape Project"; poster session at NCPH in Louisville; Internships and Residencies; Mississippi Blues Trail; Museum Exhibit: Beyond the Plantation: Slavery, Emancipation, and Oaklands;; in memorium: alumnus Pete LaPaglia.

Fall 2007
Highlights: Tara Mielnik awarded first Ph.D. in Public History; Elizabeth Snowden wins Theodore Calvin Pease Award from Society of American Archivists; Dorothy Davis presents at Public Memory and Ethnicity Conference; Museum exhibit at downtown Heritage Center - The Time That Changed Everything: Murfreesboro's Civil War Era; African American History at Jekyll Island; African Americans and the Cultural Landscapes of Stones River National Battlefield; Harry Klinkhamer publishes AASLH technical leaflet on interpreting suburbia; Alumni Spotlight: Don Rooney, curator of urban and regional history, Atlanta History Center (Atlanta, Georgia).

Spring 2007
Highlights: Distinguished Visiting Public Historian Dr. Trudy Huskamp Peterson; Cultural Landscapes Project; TAM Award: "Recovering Their Story: African Americans on the Davis Plantation";; National Register Nomination: Nelson Distillery; Website for Heritage Partnership of Rutherford County; Graduate Student Films Shown at NCPH in Santa Fe; Historic Rock Fences; Mississippi Blues Commission; Exhibit: No Longer on the Sidelines: 35 Years of Title IX at MTSU.

Fall 2006
Highlights: David McCullough; "Rethinking the Civil War at 150 Years: A Public Forum";; SAEC Annual Meeting at MTSU; Heritage Partnership of Rutherford County; Graduate Student Films; Museum Exhibit: Recovering Their Story: African Americans on the Davis Plantation; new and graduating students; alumni spotlight: Rhonda Wilson Young, archivist, Clinton Presidential Library (Little Rock, Arkansas).

Spring 2006
Highlights: Origins of MTSU's Public History program: from Historic Preservation to Public History; Distinguished Visiting Public Historian Dr. Dwight Pitcaithley; student profiles: Steve Hoskins, Tara Mielnik, Bill Nelligan, Gwynn Thayer; 2005 graduates; new students, alumni spotlights: Teresa Brum, city/county preservation officer (Spokane, Washington), David Brum, Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture (Spokane), Lyles Forbes, Small Craft Collection curator, Mariner's Museum (Newport News, Virginia), and Dawn Muir Frost, architectural historian and preservation planner at Vanasse Brustlin Inc. (Williamsburg, Virginia).