Main Menu
NEWS RELEASE
Contact: David West (west@nsula.edu
)
News Bureau
Northwestern State University
Natchitoches, LA 71497
(318) 357-6466
1/25/2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NATCHITOCHES Northwestern State University is using
its experience in preserving history along with rich local resources
to develop a new master's program in heritage resources. The program
is scheduled to begin this fall pending final approval by the
Louisiana Board of Regents.
Heritage Resources are the physical remains and oral
traditions of past human activities. They include archaeological
sites, historic structures, archival records, oral traditions
and human-modified landscapes.
The program, which will be within NSU's School of
Social Sciences, will draw on faculty in the fields of ethnology,
archaeology, cultural geography, history and historic preservation
to create a program that could be among the leading ones in the
country within several years.
"I am excited about the quality and uniqueness
of the learning experience we will be able to offer our students
in this program," said program coordinator Dr. ElizaBeth
Bede Guin. "We are tailoring the program to produce professionals
for mid to upper level management jobs. No other preservation
degree program offers the amount of practical field experience
with specific training for management level jobs."
The university is partnering with federal, state and
private agencies to create internships for its students. Internships
are available with the National Center for Preservation Technology
and Training, Cane River Creole National Historical Park, Cane
River National Heritage Area, NSU Creole Heritage Center, the
Association for the Preservation of Historic Natchitoches and
other federal, state and local preservation agencies and organizations.
"Agencies will work with students in ways which
will benefit the agencies," said Guin. "There will be
involvement in grant projects, fundraising, interpretation, conservation
and documentation. This will allow the students to develop an
extensive portfolio which they can use as they look for permanent
employment.
"We are fortunate to have so many agencies in
this area which provide a variety of experiences and are willing
to be part of our program."
A number of classes will be team taught, giving students
perspectives from a variety of disciplines.
"People will be trained on all issues or aspects
that can take place in dealing with a site," said Guin. "For
example, students will learn how a historian will look at a site
versus how an archaeologist may investigate a site."
Graduate assistantships at the $10,000 and $6,000
levels are available. Each assistantship includes an out-of-state
tuition waiver. Graduate assistants will work 20 hours per week.
Some assistantships will be in one of the university centers
(such as the Creole Heritage Center or the Cammie G. Henry Research
Center) or offices (such as the Cultural Resources Office). Other
graduate assistants will assist faculty members on projects in
the areas of oral history, geographic information systems (GIS),
archaeological investigations, folklife and materials conservation.
For more information on Northwestern's master's program
in heritage resources, call Guin at (318) 357-6195 or go to www.nsula.edu/HeritageResources.