Historic Preservation Program celebrates 30 years at Southeast

Alumni, faculty and students and friends of Southeast Missouri State University's Historic Preservation Program celebrated 30 years of the program Saturday evening at the Cape Girardeau Country Club.

Dr. Arthur H. Mattingly, one of the educators instrumental in starting the program, said the university administration wasn't keen on the idea at first.

"Nobody was on board," said Mattingly, a retired professor of history and historic preservation at the university. "The university wasn't that sold on the program, but they were willing for us to go forward with it. And in that regard, thank goodness."

Once approval was gained from the university, the program was turned down by state higher education officials who saw no need for it. Other historic preservation programs were at the graduate level and were affiliated with architecture or archaeology programs, not history. It took an in-person presentation to gain state approval for the program.

About 80 people attended Saturday's banquet, hosted by the Historic Preservation Association and commemorating the 30th anniversary of the program, which has had more than 200 graduates.

The department has annually honored an outstanding department alumnus with the Arthur H. Mattingly Award. The award goes to a someone who graduated at least five years ago, is working in the field of historic preservation and who has brought credit to the program.

This year's recipient, Carla Jordan of Cape Girardeau, has been involved in some well-known preservation projects in her work, including Historic Route 66. She is best known locally, however, for her work in the preservation of the history of Perry County and as director of the Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum in Altenburg, Mo.

"Museum development was not something that was my passion, but Dr. Frank Nickell introduced me to the Perry County Historical Society," Jordan said. "It was a simpatico right out of the chute. We clicked."

Jordan told the students in the room to "grab as much as you can from this program. Take courses in museum studies, archaeology and archives. Learn how to document history, because the biggest successes in my career came from the courses that I didn't think I wanted to take."

Nickell served as keynote speaker for the event, substituting for Steve Adams of the National Park Service. Adams' appearance was canceled Friday due to the threatened federal government shutdown.

"The historic preservation program at Southeast is genuinely unique," Nickell said. "It is a monument to the dedication and inspiration of a number of historians at Southeast who really cared about the preservation of our past. It's been successful, it's growing, and we think it will continue to evolve or the years into a nationally significant program."

Pertinent Address:

One University Plaza, Cape Girardeau MO