Content

Workshop Dates
Session I:  July 7-12
Session II: July 14-19

Applications are due by March 17, 2008.

For more information, please send us an email.

Faculty

Dr. Neva Jean Specht   
Program Director         
She is Associate Professor of American History/Public History at Appalachian State University.  She also serves as Assistant Department Chair and as the Liaison between the Blue Ridge Parkway and the University.  Her public history classes have worked on the history of the Moses Cone Estate located on the Blue Ridge Parkway. The class’s work led to the development of an interpretative notebook now used by NPS rangers at the estate.  She has lectured on the Parkway and its interpretation.  She is currently teaching a course on the Parkway for students in the University’s Honors program.  She has conducted a number of in-service workshops for K-12 teachers, which focused on the use of primary sources in the classroom.  She and her family live just below the Parkway in Deep Gap, NC.

Dr. David Johnson
Project Coordinator
An historian of the British Empire in India, David serves as one of the Department of History at Appalachian State University’s student-teacher supervisors.  He has worked extensively with public school teacher development including on several large grants including Teaching American History.

Dr. Anne Mitchell Whisnant is the author of Super-Scenic Motorway: A Blue Ridge Parkway History (Chapel Hill, University of North Carolina Press, 2006). She has worked as a consultant to the Blue Ridge Parkway and serves on the Board of Trustees of the nonprofit Blue Ridge Parkway Foundation. She has published several articles and book reviews and has delivered numerous public presentations on Parkway history and the Appalachian regional history to varied audiences that included members of the general public, teachers, scholars, and students.

Dr. Timothy Silver, Professor of History and award winning author, teaches courses in National Parks and environmental history.  He has taught for the NEH College Teacher Institute at the National Humanities Center as well as for the North Carolina Institute for Teachers sponsored by the North Carolina Humanities Council.

Mr. Phil Noblitt, author of A Mansion in the Mountains: The Story of Moses and Bertha Cone and their Blowing Rock Manor (Parkway Publishers, 1996), retired from the National Park Service in January 2007. He currently is teaching high school American History.  He has lectured extensively on the Cones as well as the Blue Ridge Parkway in general.  While working for the NPS, he worked as the Chief of Interpretation for the Cone estate and as the public access officer for the BRP. He received his M.A. in Public History from Appalachian State University.

Ms. Elizabeth Hunter writes for Blue Ridge Country Magazine among other publications.  She worked as a reporter for several years before becoming a freelance writer in 1981.  She has a number of publications about the Parkway.  Her recent research explores segregation in Shenandoah National Park and along the Blue Ridge Parkway.

Dr. Bruce Stewart, Assistant Professor of History at Appalachian State University, specializes in the social history of Appalachia, including the history of moonshine.  He teaches classes on the history of Appalachia.

Dr. Fred Hay isDirector and Curator of the Appalachian Collection.  His research on folk music has made extensive use of oral histories.  He has directed the Appalachian Collection since 1994 and knows the collection inside and out.

Dr. Eric Frauman, Assistant Professor in the Recreation Management Program at Appalachian, focuses his research on the use of mindfulness in educating outdoor enthusiasts.  He has worked with the Blue Ridge Parkway and often uses the Parkway in his courses.

Dr. Wayne Williams is Professor and Director of the Recreation Management Program at Appalachian.  He has done several projects with the Blue Ridge Parkway, exploring the historic ways people have used the park for recreation and conducting studies on angler and trail use for the Parkway.

Dr. Patricia Beaver directs the Center for Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University. Her research interests include Appalachian culture, social organizations, gender, and cultural diversity.  She has done extensive oral histories with families in and around the Parkway and has taught courses in all aspects of Appalachian Studies.

Dr. Lynne Getz, Associate Professor of History at Appalachian State University has worked on a number of public history projects.  She writes on the history of education.  She has participated in Teaching American History grants and has taught courses on community heritage, historic preservation, and cultural resources management.

Dr. John Alexander Williams, Professor of History at Appalachian, has published extensively on the history of Appalachia.  He brings extensive experience in public history having worked on documentary film, as a consultant for the Department of Energy, and for the NEH.  He has served as the Director of the Center for Appalachian Studies.

Ms. Becky Griffith, high school social studies teacher, has over 17 years experience in the classroom and is National Board certified.  She holds a number of leadership positions within the profession.  She has been a part of shaping the Social Studies curriculum in North Carolina.  She is an alumna of three Landmarks of American History workshops.

Mr. Marc Gamble, high school social studies teacher, has taught social studies since 1986.  He held a James Madison Memorial Fellowship that he used to receive his M.A. in 1997.  He currently sits on the Board of Directors of the North Carolina Council on Social Studies.

Ms. Lisa Baldwin, K-8 teacher, was named Teacher of The Year 2005-06 at Cove Creek Elementary School.  She has taught in public and private schools since 1978.  In addition to her teaching, she owns her own business called Learning Through Song.  She incorporates music and literature in her courses. She performs her own music regularly at public libraries and community festivals.