Executive Summary

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Founded in December 2000, the Center for Heritage Resource Studies at the University of Maryland—College Park was formed to bring scholars and practitioners together to support a comprehensive approach to the study of heritage.  The Center provides a forum for exchanging ideas, provides educational and professional training opportunities, conducts research projects associated with all aspects of heritage resource studies, and is developing various public outreach efforts.  This report summarizes the activities and accomplishments of the Center during its first year.

First, a summary of the Center’s mission, goals, objectives are presented; ten objectives for meeting these goals are presented in Appendix A.  Second, in addition to the Director and initial faculty members, the Center hired an Assistant Director on a part-time basis and has developed a series of partnership agreements and affiliate members.  The Center also plays a key role in developing partnerships with education institutions, professional associations, non-profit organizations, and businesses that have similar research interests.  List of current Center staff, partners and affiliates are presented in this section.

Third, Center activities and projects have been divided into four major program categories (debate forum, research, education, and public outreach).  Brief summaries of current projects and activities are provided in each program section.  The Center also has been active in supporting the development of cooperative research projects related to heritage studies, which are listed in this section.  Fuller descriptions of selected projects and activities are presented in a series of appendices.  These include two Center advisory workshops (Appendix B), the “Shared Heritage and Conflict Resolution” training course, part of the Wye River People-to-People Exchange Program (Appendix C), the Belgium Study Abroad Program (Appendix D), and the new Center brochure and website (Appendix E).

Lastly, summaries of current Center funding sources and Center-assisted activities are presented in a series of tables listing grant- and contract-funded research projects (Table 1), grant proposal assistance provided by the Center for projects that will lead to enhanced Center research opportunities (Table 2), assistantships for University of Maryland graduate students (Table 3), and continuing education programs (Table 4).

The Center is temporarily located at 1111 Woods Hall, University of Maryland—College Park.  The Center’s new website can be found at www.heritage.umd.edu.  This first annual report was prepared by Donald G. Jones, Assistant Director, with the assistance of Dr. Paul Shackel, Director.

Center Mission

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The Center for Heritage Resource Studies at the University of Maryland has developed a mission statement, justification for this mission and five broad goals for reaching this mission, each of which are presented below.  In addition, the Center developed ten broad objectives to reach these goals, which are presented in Appendix A.

Mission Statement

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To bring scholars and practitioners together to support a comprehensive approach to the study of heritage—an approach devoted to understanding the cultural characteristics of heritage resources to promote the protection, responsible development, and uses of those resources.

The establishment of the Center for Heritage Resource Studies recognizes that the sustainability of our cultural and environmental resources is dependent upon understanding the ways in which heritage is defined, expressed, and used to further economic development and political activity.  Furthermore, it is critical that research and educational efforts conducted and sponsored by the Center be formulated in a way that can be readily applied by those who are responsible for the management of our historic, cultural, and environmental resources.  In this manner, the activities of the Center for Heritage Resource Studies will contribute substantially to an increased awareness of the need for responsible heritage development.

Goals

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The Center for Heritage Resource Studies brings scholars and practitioners together to support a comprehensive approach to the study of heritage.  Through such collaborations, the Center is creating an increasingly visible and more vibrant program in the Department of Anthropology.  The Center intends to become an internationally recognized leader in heritage resource studies devoted to understanding the cultural characteristics of heritage resources to promote the protection, responsible development, and uses of those resources.

The Center has five primary goals:

1.   To conduct, sponsor, and support research projects that demonstrate the societal and cultural importance of heritage in today’s fast-changing world;

2.   To draw on the unique and diverse skills in the Department of Anthropology and Center partners and affiliates to establish heritage projects;

3.   To integrate disciplinary interests in heritage and reinforce existing interests of faculty and Center/Department partners;

4.   To provide education and training for students and professionals in heritage research, advocacy, and program development and implementation; and

5.   To disseminate information on our work through various media in order to build a broader constituency for heritage resource studies, heritage preservation, and heritage management.

Center Personnel

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Center staff initially includes scholars from the Department of Anthropology.  Center core personnel is supplemented and enhanced through the development of partnerships with other departments, institutions, agencies, and organizations, and through affiliation with recognized individual leaders from a wide range of academic and applied fields.  We are continually working to develop new partnership agreements and enlist additional renowned affiliates.  Current Center staff, partners, and affiliates are listed below.

Center Staff/Faculty

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Director
Paul A. Shackel (Ph.D), Associate Professor of Anthropology

Assistant Director
Donald G. Jones (Ph.D.), Faculty Research Associate

Faculty Members
Mark P. Leone (Ph.D.), Professor of Anthropology
Erve M. Chambers (Ph.D.), Professor of Anthropology
Michael Paolisso (Ph.D.), Assistant Professor of Anthropology

Partner Organizations

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During its first year, the Center developed a number of partnership arrangements and has been working to broaden our partnership base.  Most of the current partnerships serve to provide enhanced research and educational opportunities provided by the Center, including the development of grant and contract-funded activities.

University of Maryland Partners

American Studies Department
Baha’i Chair for World Peace (Dr. Suheil Bushrui)
Center for International Development and Conflict Management
Center on Population, Gender and Social Inequality, Department of Sociology
Historic Preservation Program, School of Architecture
Office of Continuing and Extended Education
Study Abroad Office

State and Regional Partners

Catoctin Center for Regional Studies, Frederick  Community College, Maryland
Historic Annapolis Foundation, Annapolis, Maryland
Maryland Historical Trust, Crownsville, Maryland
Maryland State Highways Archaeology, Project Planning Division
National Park Service, Center for Cultural Resources, Valley Forge
National Park Service, National Capital Region, Regional Archeology Program
Shenandoah Center for Heritage and the Environment (Virginia)
URS Corporation (an international private corporation)

National Partners

Society for American Archaeology

International Partners

Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Preservation, Belgium

Affiliates

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The Center expands its intellectual reach and research and educational opportunities across the globe through its affiliate program.  The Center for Heritage Resource Studies is pleased to have the following individuals as Center Affiliates.  Please note that affiliation extends only to the individual, unless the Center has a partnership agreement with the affiliate’s institution (see above).  The home institution of each affiliate is provided here for informational purposes only.

Brian Alexander
President & CEO, Historic Annapolis Foundation

William Bechhoefer
School of Architecture, University of Maryland

Ben Blount
Professor, Department of Anthropology, The University of Georgia

Peter Brosius
Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology, The University of Georgia

Suheil Bushrui
Baha’i Chair for World Peace, University of Maryland

Dirk Callebaut
Executive Director, Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage Presentation, Belgium

Wayne E. Clark
Executive Director, Office of Museum Services, Jefferson Patterson Park and Museum

Elaine Eff
Director, Cultural Conservation Program, Maryland Historical Trust

Barbara Franco
Executive Director, The Historical Society of Washington, DC

Dean Herrin
Catoctin Center for Regional Studies, Frederick Community College, Maryland

Mary Hufford
Director, Center for Folklore and Ethnography, University of Pennsylvania

David W. Inouye
Graduate Program in Sustainable Development and Conservation Biology, University of Maryland

Barbara J. Little
Archeology and Ethnography Program, National Park Service

Randy Mason
Director, Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, University of Maryland

Francis P. McManamon
Director, Archeology and Ethnography Program, National Park Service

Stephen R. Potter
Regional Archeologist, National Park Service, National Capital Region

Stephen D. Prince
Director, Mid-Atlantic Regional Earth Sciences Applications Center,
University of Maryland

Peter Stone
International Centre for Cultural and Heritage Studies, United Kingdom

Jack Sullivan
Landscape Architecture Program, University of Maryland

Edvard Thorsett
Director, Shenandoah Center for Heritage and the Environment

Center Programs

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The Center for Heritage Resource Studies was established to bring scholars and practitioners together to support a comprehensive approach to the study of heritage.  To that end, the Center’s research and educational efforts are formulated in a way that can be readily applied by those who are responsible for the management of our historic, cultural, and environmental resources.  In this manner, the activities of the Center will contribute substantially to an increased awareness of the need for responsible heritage development.

The Center has four primary program categories to help achieve these goals:

·         Debate forum;

·         Research;

·         Education; and

·         Public outreach.

Each of these program categories is described below, with selected activities highlighted.

Debate Forum

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The Center provides a forum for debate about and investigation of a variety of heritage issues through workshops, lectures, seminars, publications, and possibly a web-based list-serve.  The purpose of the debate forum is to provide scholars and practitioners with the opportunity to share their views, concerns, and experiences directly with each other, serving to bridge the gap between academic and applied fields.

As part of this program, the Center for Heritage Resource Studies held two advisory workshops during 2001 with participants from the academic community (September workshop) and professional, governmental, and non-profit organizations (December workshop).  The workshop participants helped solidify the Center’s mission statement, organize the Center’s various programs into discrete categories, and develop a draft five-year plan for fulfilling the Center’s mission and objectives.  This plan (currently in development) concentrates on substantive issues, physical staffing infrastructure, and funding concerns.  Summaries of the two workshops are presented below.  More detailed descriptions of the workshops can be found in Appendix B.

September Workshop (Academic Community)

The Center for Heritage Resource Studies hosted its first Advisory Workshop September 6-7, 2001.  Invited participants were:

·   Ben Blount (Professor, Department of Anthropology, The University of Georgia);

·   Peter Brosius (Associate Professor, Department of Anthropology,The University of Georgia);

·    Anabel Ford (Director, ISBER/MesoAmerican Research Center, University of California—Santa Barbara); and

·     Mary Hufford (Director, Center for Folklore and Ethnography, University of Pennsylvania).

University of Maryland participants were:

·    Stewart Edelstein (Associate Dean);

·    Paul Shackel (Director)

·    Don Jones (Assistant Director)

·    Erve Chambers (Professor)

·    Mark Leone (Professor)

·    Michael Paolisso (Assistant Professor); and

·    Anthropology graduate students Kris Beadenkopf, Stacy Hockett,
Teresa Moyer, Rosemary Riel, Sara Rivers, and Kate Shaffer.

The Center’s first Advisory Workshop generated lively discussion and debate on heritage issues and various roles the Center may serve in the field of heritage studies.  In addition, the participants assisted with the development of a proposed five-year plan for the Center.  A report on the workshop subsequently was compiled and submitted to all workshop participants; the report is on file at the Center administrative offices.

Second Advisory Workshop (Applied)

A second advisory workshop was held December 7, 2001.  The participants invited to this workshop were individuals who work in various applied anthropology and heritage fields.  The invited participants were:

·    Michael Cernea (Social Development, The World Bank);

·    Elaine Eff (Maryland Historical Trust);

·    Barbara Franco (The Historical Society of Washington, DC)

·    Randall Mason (Graduate Program in Historic Preservation, University of Maryland);

·    Frank McManamon (Archeology and Ethnography Program, National Park Service); and

·    George Smith (Southeast Archeology Center, National Park Service).

University of Maryland participants were:

·    Stewart Edelstein (Associate Dean);

·    Paul Shackel (Center Director);

·    Don Jones (Center Assistant Director);

·    Erve Chambers (Professor, Department of Anthropology);

·    Mark Leone (Professor, Department of Anthropology);

·    Michael Paolisso (Assistant Professor, Department of Anthropology); and

·    UMD Anthropology graduate students Jennifer Babiarz, Brandon Bies, Joanna Church, Stacey Hockett, Rosemary Riel, Amanda Ritchie, and Kathryn Shaffer.

As with the first workshop, these questions generated lively discussion and debate on heritage issues and various roles the Center may serve in the field of heritage studies.  In addition, the participants assisted with the development of a list of priorities toward the development of a five-year plan for the Center.  A report on the workshop is being prepared and will be submitted to all workshop participants upon its completion.

Research

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The Center both conducts and supports research projects covering all aspects of heritage.  The research interests of the principle Center members range from archaeological research to cultural landscapes to socio-cultural community investigations and tourism.  The Center conducts grant- and contract-funded research projects, supports research endeavors for other faculty and graduate students, and provides limited funding to support grant-writing activities for Center-related projects.

Members of the Center staff are well established in the fields of heritage and natural resource management and are recognized on an international level for their research.  The Department of Anthropology has strong and dynamic programs in public archaeology, heritage tourism, and resource management, with an emphasis on both cultural and natural resources.  All of these programs have ties to local, state, and federal institutions as well as private corporations and non-profit organizations.

In addition, the Center has created successful partnerships with these groups and will continue to link with other agencies and organizations that have similar goals.  The Center builds on these strengths to promote excellence in teaching and research, to establish productive relationships with local, state, and federal agencies and institutions, and to further our mission to become a national and international leader in heritage resource studies.

Faculty Research

Some of the current research projects being conducted by or through the Center describe the breadth of issues being investigated.

·    Mark Leone’s laboratory for historical archaeology houses many ongoing project files from his work in Historic Annapolis, and a Geographic Information System (GIS) Laboratory;

·    Michael Paolisso’s research on the Chesapeake Bay focuses on differing views of heritage held by various stakeholder groups affected by natural resource management issues

·    Paul Shackel has conducted a number of research projects that share a common focus—using archaeology to commemorate struggle and resistance—including projects at Harpers Ferry National Historic Park, Petersburg National Battlefield, and elsewhere; and

·    Erve Chambers has studied issues of tourism in Thailand and is currently working on similar research on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.

 Recently funded faculty research include the following projects:

·    Using collaborative learning, cultural models, and dialogue to advance co-management planning of the Chesapeake Bay Blue Crab Fisher (Paolisso and Chambers)

·    Developing cultural consensus and cultural models of environment on Maryland’s Lower Eastern Shore (Paolisso and Chambers)

·    Preliminary research related to tourism and heritage in Delmarva (Chambers)

·    Technical support for a proposal related to the development of a heritage resource center in Front Royal, Virginia (Chambers)

·    Archaeological investigations at the Bannaker-Douglass site in Annapolis (Leone)

·    Research, oral history, and archaeology at Wye Hall in Queen’s County (Leone)

·    Archaeological investigations at Monocacy National Battlefield Park (Shackel)

·    Researching and compiling an administrative history for Harpers Ferry National Historic Park (Shackel)

Center Partnership Research

In addition to research projects conducted by Center faculty, the Center grants limited financial assistance to other researchers to assist in the development of research projects that will be administered through, conducted in partnership with, or otherwise associated with the center.  Some of these projects include

·    Research on historic African-American churches in Frederick County with the Catoctin Center for Regional Studies (Frederick Community College);

·    Development of a cultural resource geographic information system database (also with
the Catoctin Center);

·    Proposal development for the Shenandoah Center for Heritage and the Environment, a planned public archive and interpretive center at the Avtex Industrial Site in Virginia.

Education

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The Center is committed to providing professional and continuing educational opportunities in the field of heritage resource studies.  The Department of Anthropology offers a Masters in Applied Anthropology through which students gain unparalleled opportunities for internships and employment in a variety of heritage resource-related organizations.  Working with the Office of Continuing and Extended Education and the Study Abroad Office, the Center offers courses and training seminars both on- and off-campus.  Our courses are taught by University of Maryland faculty and Center affiliates and partners from a broad range of heritage management agencies and organizations.

Recent and upcoming educational programs our listed below.

·    Archaeology and Heritage in Flanders, Belgium, a cooperative summer study tour with the Ename Center for Public Archaeology and Heritage, Belgium, conducted in Summer 2001 and being offered again in Summer 2002;

·    Professional Training Courses offered in association with the Society for American Archaeology

·    Geographic Information Systems (April 2001, New Orleans)

·    Writing and Managing Federal Contracts (April 2001, New Orleans)

·    People Management (March 2002, Denver); and

·    Shared Heritage and Conflict Resolution, being offered Summer 2002 at the University of Maryland for Israeli and Palestinian archaeologists and community members as part of the Wye River People-to-People Exchange Program (a U.S. State Department grant to the University of Haifa Israel), in association with the University of Haifa, the Palestinian Association for Cultural Exchange, and the Ename Center (Belgium).

More detailed descriptions are provided for the Wye River grant project in Appendix C and the Belgium Study Tour in Appendix D.

We are working to expand our course offerings and educational opportunities, including the development of a certificate training program.  We currently are pursuing partnerships with the following organizations and institutions:

·    National Park Service, for training and development service wide on cultural resource stewardship;

·    The World Bank and the U.S. Agency for International Development, for training heritage management professionals, planners, and tourism officials from developing countries;

·    The Society for American Archaeology (professional association) and the American Cultural Resource Association (business association) to expand course offerings for cultural resource management.

The expansion of our existing educational programs and, significantly, the development of a certificate training program are expected to provide the Center with increased visibility and funding.

Public Outreach

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The Center for Heritage Resource Studies reaches interested members of the public through lectures, seminars, conferences, publications, the World Wide Web, and fieldwork opportunities.  As the debate forum will help bridge the gap between those working the academic and applied fields, the Center’s public outreach program will serve to bridge the gap between professionals and the interested public, particularly in areas such as heritage development and tourism.

Our initial public outreach efforts have included the following:

·    Creation of a Center brochure;

·    Development of a new Center website (see Appendix E); and

·    Initial participation in various associated email “list serves”.

Additional outreach efforts in development include popular publications (articles for newsletters, tourism journals, etc.), a lecture and/or workshop series, and development of continuing education courses tailored to various groups including teachers, tour planners, etc.  Also, Center staff will be meeting with representatives of cultural resource management firms in the region to help develop graduate and professional education courses.