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Historic Preservation Program at Mississippi College Wins Award


Award winners Tricia Nelson, chair of the MC Department of History and Political Science and Lauren Harrison, a 2012 MC graduate from Corinth

Students at Mississippi College visited the Coker House at the Civil War’s Champion Hill Battlefield in Hinds County and toured old cemeteries in Vicksburg, Port Gibson and Natchez.

With their MC professors along for the journey, some students traveled as far away as Virginia and Pennsylvania to see additional historic sites last summer.

The Mississippi Department of Archives & History is taking notice.

In early May, the department announced that MC’s Historic Preservation Program was the recipient of the Mississippi Historical Records Advisory Board’s Award for Excellence for use of records in higher education.

The award noted the Christian university’s extensive use of historical sources for research and coursework in the institution’s historic preservation minor.

The awards program was established to encourage and support efforts to identify, preserve and provide access to Mississippi’s historical records. Organizers hope the awards spotlighting exemplary achievements will spark others in Mississippi to make similar contributions.

Lauren Harrison of Corinth, a 2012 Mississippi College graduate with a bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in historic preservation, joined Tricia Nelson, chair of the MC Department of History and Political Science, to receive the honor.

The award was presented at the biennial meeting of the Society of Mississippi Archivists at Delta State University’s Cleveland campus on April 18.

Mississippi College launched its historic preservation minor in the fall of 2010 on the Clinton campus. Students in the classes are required to conduct site visits to see historic buildings and go to other places to check artifacts and review documents for research purposes.

For more information, contact Tricia Nelson at 601.925.3221.