Goucher College Brings Historic Preservation Classes to Annapolis

By Jessica Bowers

The tidewater region surrounding Annapolis poses unique challenges for homeowners and developers interested in preserving and restoring historic architecture. Storms, erosion, pollution, and other natural factors often damage the area's beautiful and irreplaceable Colonial sites, and restorers need special knowledge about local history, culture, and maritime traditions to ensure preservation. B

Baltimore's Goucher College, already well known for its undergraduate and distance-learning graduate programs in historic preservation, brings hope to amateur preservationists and seasoned professionals alike with its new Annapolis-based certificate program in historic preservation. Held throughout the Annapolis Historic District, with a home base at the recently restored Maryland Hall for the Creative Arts, itself an example of historic preservation, classes will focus on the city's distinctive traditions in historic architecture, and can be taken individually or as part of a comprehensive certificate program.

Designed to reach preservation enthusiasts along the Eastern Shore, Goucher's program strives to provide the skills necessary to restore a home, trace the cultural heritage of a neighborhood, or serve on a preservation-related commission or board. Program directors see the move to Annapolis as a natural extension of Goucher's existing Washington D.C.-based historic preservation certificate program, now in its tenth year.

"We're not just copying the program in D.C. and moving it to Annapolis, though," explains Deborah Cebula, director of professional programs and lifelong learning at Goucher's Welch Center for Graduate and Professional Studies. "We definitely have a maritime slant. The tidewater region across the board is an important area for historic preservation, and a natural choice for our program."

Available courses will include "Introduction to Historic Preservation," "Chesapeake Maritime Heritage and Preservation," and "Regional Architecture: The Tidewater." The program's faculty includes William Dudley, director of the Naval Historical Center in Washington, D.C., and Sherri Marsh, a noted preservationist.

Apart from the obvious benefits of holding historic preservation classes in the heart of Annapolis's Historic District, Goucher had another compelling reason to set up a program in the city. Mayor Ellen O. Moyer, a vocal supporter of historic preservation and alumna of the college, invited her alma mater to expand its course offerings to the Annapolis area, in the hopes that the program will engage the local community in preservation and address both business and homeowner issues.

The Mayor's involvement in bringing Goucher's Historic Preservation Certificate Program to Annapolis comes hot on the heels of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's decision to name Annapolis one of "12 Distinctive Destinations" for history and heritage - an honor that should expand the city's already bustling tourism industry.

Goucher's Annapolis Professional Certificate Program in Historic Preservation will begin holding classes this fall, at a cost of $450 per class and $190 per workshop. Visit www.goucher.edu/professionalprograms for more information, or call 410-337-6200.

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