FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 4, 2002

FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Peggy Binette or Margaret Lamb
Phone: 803.777.5400; FAX: 803.777.3697

The University of South Carolina's Public History Program, one of the oldest and largest public history programs in the country, has earned a prestigious national honor.

The program will be recognized with the Robert Kelley Memorial Award from the National Council on Public History April 12 in Washington, D.C., at the council's annual conference.

The Kelley Award, which is the highest honor given by the council to an individual or organization, recognizes outstanding achievements and excellence in the public history profession, a field dedicated to making history more usable and accessible in contemporary society.

David G. Vanderstel, executive director of the National Council on Public History, cited the program's commitment to public history education and to its students as a primary reason for it selection.

"The University of South Carolina's Public History Program was one of the first such programs in the country," Vanderstel said. "It has a tremendous track record for innovative teaching and education and for its placement of students in internships and careers. The university and the history department are to be commended for supporting the public history program over the years and making it one of the leaders in public history education."

Dr. Patrick Maney, chairman of USC's history department, said the award is especially gratifying because it is from a prestigious organization of peers outside the university.

"The Kelley Award is a wonderful recognition of the success that our public historians have in making history accessible to a broad public well beyond the confines of the university," Maney said.

USC's Public History Program, which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year, is a graduate program in the COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES. One of the largest in the country with 30 students, the program offers master's degrees in historic preservation, museums or archives and boasts a network of alumni who work in some of the country's most prominent historic places, including Monticello and the U.S. Holocaust Museum.

The Kelley Award, first given in 1997, is named for Robert Kelley, a former history professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara who spearheaded a national effort to recognize and preserve public history.

The NCPH has 1,700 members in the United States and abroad. It was established to raise public awareness of the value, uses and pleasures of history, while supporting the historical community's efforts in public history education and historical preservation.

For more information on USC's Public History Program, call Dr. Connie Schulz or Dr. Robert Weyeneth at 803-777-5195 or visit the Web site www.cas.sc.edu/hist/pubhist/.