285 GRAHAM JOINS CENTER FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION STAFF

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Feb. 26, 2007
EDITORIAL CONTACT: Lisa L. Rollins, 615-898-2919

GRAHAM JOINS CENTER FOR HISTORIC PRESERVATION STAFF
CHP Director Says Graham Brings Much-Welcomed ‘Out of Classroom’ Approach

(MUFREESBORO)—Dr. Carroll Van West, director of the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP) at MTSU, recently announced the addition of Dr. Stacey Graham to the center’s staff.
A native of Murfreesboro, Graham earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and both her M.A. and Ph.D. in history from the University of California at Los Angeles. She will serve as a research professor for the MTSU-based center.
“Dr. Graham is a very significant addition to the Center for Historic Preservation," West observed. “She brings outstanding academic credentials, having conducted research in some of the best libraries in Europe as a Fulbright Scholar, and having completed her doctorate at UCLA.
“More importantly for us,” he added, “she has a passion for being a historian 'out of the classroom,' conducting field research and carrying out field projects with our students and bringing new insights gathered from her international research to the commonplaces, like rural cemeteries, of Tennessee's historic landscape."
Regarding her role within the CHP, Graham said, “I pursued this job at the Center for Historic Preservation because I deeply admire the work that they accomplish here. Not only are the individual projects interesting from a historical standpoint, but they are practical, applicable and valuable for all members of our community—not just academics or private scholars.”
Although Graham may boast research experience and familiarity with historic periods that span from Ancient Rome to the Civil War, she will begin her tenure with the CHP with a focused area of study, she said.
“The amount of projects the center handles is quite impressive, and right now I’m focusing on only a few of them, including some Civil War sites and antebellum cemeteries,” Graham explained. “My short-term goal is to continue researching projects like these in Tennessee, while my long-term goal is to place such local preservation efforts into a larger, international context.”
In addition to her research role with the CHP, Graham—who served as a national intern with the CHP in 2003 and as a teaching assistant for UCLA’s history department—said she also hopes to begin teaching courses in MTSU’s history department in 2008.

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° ATTENTION, MEDIA—To secure a jpeg of Dr. Graham for editorial use, please send your request to Lisa L. Rollins in the Office of News and Public Affairs at lrollins@mtsu.edu.