New Preservation Student Publishes Research

Megan McPherson, a first-year Master of Historic Preservation (MHP) student, came to the program with some bona fide research under her belt.  Megan began an internship with the Georgia Museum of Natural History (GMNH) under Dr. Suzanne Pilaar Birch in 2018 while she was an undergraduate.  While archival research had not been a path Megan had explored in the past, she went on to dive head-first into the museum archives and work on mapping history from 1785-1900. As an Anthropology major/Geography minor pursuing certificates in Historic Preservation and Museum Studies, she was well-suited to the task.   

As a participant in the Center for Undergraduate Research Opportunities (CURO) program, she presented her archival research at the CURO Symposium in spring of 2019 and won first place.  Next, she went on to be the first author on the paper Uncovering the Early History of the Georgia Museum of Natural History, 1785–1900 and created an ArcGIS StoryMap of her findings. Her paper has been published by Journal of the History of Collections brought to you by Oxford Academic. 

CED is pleased that Megan has chosen to refine and focus her skills within our MHP program and as a surveyor with the Center for Community Design and Preservation’s Findit program!  To learn more about her research please visit the GMNH Friends website and explore her online StoryMap.  

Megan Mcpherson and faculty co-mentor Bud Freeman from the Odum School of Ecology