Historic Preservation Selected for National Council for Preservation Education membership

#1328 | December 4, 2012

SAVANNAH – Savannah Technical College’s Historic Preservation Department was recently accepted into associate membership with the National Council for Preservation Education (NCPE).

     “It is an honor to be voted in as a member of the NCPE,” said Stephen Hartley, instructor and founder of the College’s Historic Preservation and Restoration program. “NCPE members are some of the top schools in the nation, and the inclusion of Savannah Tech into that organization is a testament to the excellent work that the students do on a daily basis.”

     The National Council for Preservation Education has more than 50 member institutions located across the United States. These academic programs in historic preservation and allied fields have educated thousands of students, many of whom have developed professional careers as professional historic preservation leaders working for local, state, federal government agencies, non-governmental organizations and in the private sector in the US and elsewhere in the world.

     The NCPE standards evaluating associate members include the program’s mission statement, fundamental and specialized components, how coursework and studio projects are defined and the placement of graduates.

     Savannah Tech’s Historic Preservation Department welcomes three visiting artisans annually to give students the specialized training they need to enhance their coursework. Jeff and Henry Orton, a father-son traditional lime plastering team from Leicestershire, U.K. worked with students in November. Jeff has more than 40 years in the plastering business, working on a vast array of sites throughout the world. His son Henry, after pursuing his university degree, followed his father into the plastering trades and today is working for a pargetting company. Jeff and Henry taught STC students bench running and in-situ crown molding running.

     Visiting Artisan visits are managed by Hartley, who was recently selected to join the Boards of Emergent Structures and the Georgia Green Building Council. Earlier this year, he led a session at the Association for Preservation Technology International/Preservation Trades Network parallel conferences in Charleston, S.C.

      Savannah Tech has the only public hands-on preservation program in the state. The program has gained international recognition and has contributed to a number of community-based preservation projects in the surrounding communities. Historic Preservation is the cornerstone of new instructional programs in Green Building Technology, which focuses on a comprehensive view of systems and efficiencies in construction. For information about Historic Preservation events and projects, like the department’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/STCHistoricPreservation.

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Historic Preservation Department Head:
Stephen Hartley
shartley@savannahtech.edu or 912.443.5864
www.facebook.com/STCHistoricPreservation

Media Contact:
Amy Shaffer, APR
ashaffer@savannahtech.edu
912.443.5512