407 MTSU FACULTY, GRADUATES CONTRIBUTE TO APPALACHIA BOOK

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 28, 2006
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919


(MURFREESBORO)—Some 16 MTSU alumni and several faculty members have made significant editorial contributions to the newly published “Encyclopedia of Appalachia,” a comprehensive reference guide that encompasses many facets of Appalachian culture.
The new title, with more than 2,000 entries, “serves as a one-stop reference for students, teachers, scholars and the general public as they seek information about Appalachia's land, people, economics, cultures and institutions,” according to the encyclopedia’s Web site (http://www.etsu.edu/cass).
Members of the MTSU community became involved with the East Tennessee State University (ETSU) project after Dr. Carroll Van West, director of MTSU’s Center for Historic Preservation (CHP), was contacted by its sister Center of Excellence—the Center for Appalachian Studies and Services at ETSU.
“I had occasion to meet with (ETSU center representatives) and help in initial planning for the project,” West said. “I also agreed to be the section editor for architecture and … I turned to many of our past M.A. historic preservation students that have built successful careers throughout the region” to contribute to the encyclopedia.
West said he agreed to undertake the assignment not only because of his research interests in southern architecture, but also out of the conviction that Appalachia particularly suffers from stereotypes.
“All architecture in Appalachia is not composed of log cabins, as the Great Smoky Mountains National Park suggests,” West observed, regarding the Appalachia region that refers to the entire area along the Appalachian Mountains and stretches from northern Alabama to Maine.
“The section certainly includes an entry on log buildings,” West remarked, “but it also includes such key American architectural landmarks as Frank Lloyd Wright's Falling Water in Pennsylvania and the Grove Park Inn in North Carolina.”
Southern architecture aside, however, the CHP-related contributions to the “Encyclopedia of Appalachia” serve to highlight the academic endeavors of MTSU’s history department and programs.
Dr. John McDaniel, dean of MTSU’s College of Liberal Arts, said, “The newly published encyclopedia on the historical roots and cultural accomplishments of Appalachia is an important addition to what can be broadly called Southern Studies—an addition to which the faculty and students in our
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history department and Center for Historic Preservation have made significant
contributions.
“With mentoring and partnering from senior faculty in the MTSU Public History Program,” McDaniel noted, “graduate students have had a unique opportunity to experience the rigors and delights of researching and publishing in a volume sure to have national significance as a scholarly reference work.”
And West couldn’t agree more.
“The ‘Encyclopedia of Appalachia’ is not only a document of the well-recognized research and expertise of the Center for Historic Preservation,” he said. “(but) it is also a testament to the quality of our graduate assistants and how we always try to advance their research and careers by involving them in experiential learning experiences.”
In addition to West and former historic preservation graduate students, Drs. Bren Martin and Kris McCusker, associates professors of history at MTSU, and the late Dr. Charles Wolfe, English professor and historian, also contributed to the Appalachian reference work, among others.
Published by the University of Tennessee Press, the “Encyclopedia of Appalachia” was unveiled at the Appalachian Studies Association's conference March 17-19 in Dayton, Ohio.
• For more information about the “Encyclopedia of Appalachia,” please visit the Center for Appalachia Studies and Services Web site at http://www.etsu.edu/cass or contact Cheryl Carson at the University of Tennessee Press at (865) 974-4440.