SEMO professor receives national lifetime achievement award for historic preservation

FOX23 News at 9 p.m.

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo., (KBSI) — A Southeast Missouri State University professor has received a national lifetime achievement award for his work in historic preservation education.

Dr. Steven Hoffman, a professor of historic preservation at SEMO, received the James Marston Fitch Award for Lifetime Achievement in Preservation Education from the National Council for Preservation Education.

The award recognizes Hoffman’s career preparing students for work in historic preservation and public history.

“It really is quite an honor,” Hoffman said. “Over the years I’ve watched the luminaries of the field receive this honor and never really saw myself as being in their league.”

Hoffman said the recognition also reflects the success of SEMO’s historic preservation program and its graduates.

Former students have gone on to work for state historic preservation offices, consulting firms, state and federal agencies, the National Park Service and other organizations.

Hoffman said historic preservation helps communities remain connected to their past while providing students with career opportunities across the country.

“Historic preservation helps us remember who we are and connects us meaningfully to our collective past,” Hoffman said.

Hoffman also said preservation professionals have a responsibility to ensure the history they document and protect represents a broad range of people and communities, including stories that have historically been overlooked.

The award is named for James Marston Fitch, who helped establish the historic preservation program at Columbia University in 1966. The program was among the first of its kind in the United States.