25 years of preservation excellence

To the editor:

The historic preservation program at Southeast Missouri State University is a treasure. The expertise of graduates from this program far exceeds local National Register of Historic Places nominations.

Graduates hold high-ranking positions in the National Park Service and in state governments. They administrate museums and historic sites. They author historic texts, present at professional conferences and educate the public. They preserve and document nationally significant bridges, buildings and residences. They serve on numerous preservation boards, conserve and archive historic collections and lobby legislators to save our heritage.

The entire history faculty prepares historic preservation students for jobs in the national market. Dr. Steve Hoffman expertly mentors students in the fundamentals of historic preservation and guides them toward their passions in the field. Dr. Joel Rhodes and Dr. Eric Clements prepare students to function in any museum or historic site. Dr. Bonnie Stepenoff creates researchers in her classrooms and prepares students for archival roles. Dr. Lisa Speer is a champion for students in the university archives. Many of us owe our professional positions to encouragement and introductions provided by Dr. Frank Nickell.

A little journalistic research would uncover the links between students of this program and stories of regional and national historic preservation efforts. With all of the controversy we read in the press regarding SEMO, it is refreshing to have one of the best professional historic preservation training programs in the nation.

CARLA L. JORDAN, Director, Lutheran Heritage Center and Museum, Altenburg, Mo.