The UNCG departments of History and Housing and Interior Design will begin enrolling students in the special concentration in the fall of 2000. A $107,500 grant from the Marion Stedman Covington Foundation of Greensboro will provide funding for faculty salary, fellowship endowment and other program expenses.

The program’s goal is to produce graduates who have the skills and knowledge necessary to work in preservation and museum positions throughout the state, said Dr. William Link, head of UNCG’s Department of History. Graduates may work as curators, researchers, historical interpreters or museum designers.

The demand for graduates will be there, Link said. Tourism — including historical sites such as Old Salem in Winston-Salem and the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park in Greensboro — is a major player in North Carolina’s economy.

"History often is seen as an ivory-tower subject that’s very dry and dusty," Link said. "But this is hands-on history, a history involved in the life of the community.

"When people visit a state or community, they expect museums and history. This program is very much in tune with that."

No graduate-level program in historic preservation or museum studies currently exists in the state, but the interest does, said Jo Leimenstoll, an associate professor of interior design at UNCG.

"North Carolina has such a wealth of (historical resources) that it’s amazing we don’t have a program," Leimenstoll said. "In the past, students have had to go outside the state to get this (education). ... This grant lets us take the lead on this."

The program will draw students from two current master’s degree programs at UNCG — the Master of Science in interior design and the Master of Arts in history. Students will augment their graduate study with courses in the areas of historic preservation and museum studies. The program will take an average of two years to complete.

The Department of History will enroll 15 to 20 students in the concentration, while the Department of Housing and Interior Design will enroll 10 to 12. Faculty also are making plans for a post-graduate certificate program.

"I’m really delighted that this (program) is going to happen," said Myrick Howard, executive director of Preservation North Carolina and a member of the Covington Foundation’s board. "I have been very frustrated about having to send the best and brightest young preservationists from North Carolina to Georgia or Tennessee to get their graduate studies."

The program will be interdisciplinary, with students from both departments taking core courses together. Those courses will touch on subjects such as preservation planning and the philosophy of historic preservation. In addition, students will take elective courses that correspond to their individual master’s program.

Graduate students from related UNCG programs such as geography, anthropology and art also will benefit from the courses, Link said.

Students also will have internship opportunities. UNCG has a longstanding relationship with the Museum of Early Southern Decorative Arts in Winston-Salem, Link said. He and Leimenstoll also are working to establish internships with other historical organizations and museums around the state.