Campus News
With two sites in the Sumter County area, the National Park Service (NPS) is a valuable entity for tourism and education in Southwest Georgia. Its connection with the area increased even more this year as the Andersonville National Historic Site (Park) and Georgia Southwestern State University (GSW) entered into an agreement to collaborate on future educational opportunities. “I am very pleased with the
University’s interest in expanding our partnership,” said Park Super- intendent Brad Bennett. “Building upon the strong foundation that already exists with the history De- partment, we have identified several other points of potential collabora- tion. I am very impressed with the creative ideas Dr. Adler has collected from faculty – and we appreciate Dr. Blanchard’s support to turn those ideas into reality. I am confident that the talent at GSW, working with the great staff at Andersonville National Historic Site, will result in educational outcomes that will benefit both entities and – most importantly – the public we both serve.” The objective of the expanded partnership, in part, is to better understand the causes and conse- quences of the Civil War, place the Park within that broader context, explore and develop mutually bene- ficial educational activities across all disciplines, and to specifically enhance the public’s appreciation of the Prisoner of War experience during the Civil War and throughout American history. The NPS is com- memorating the 150th anniversary of the Civil War from 2011 through 2015. The Park and GSW will work together to commemorate and educate about the Sesquicentennial in and near the Park. “The MOU is an exciting development for us to partner with the National Park Service and the history-rich and culturally significant park at Ander-
6 | Fall 2011
Andersonville National Historic Site, Georgia Southwestern sign agreement, expand educational partnership
Andersonville National Historic Site Superintendent Brad Bennett (left) and GSW President Kendall Blanchard sign an agreement to partner on future educational projects. Back row, left to right: Park Chief of Intrepretation and Education Eric Leonard, and GSW Vice President of Academic Affairs Brian Adler, look on.
sonville,” said Academic Affairs VP Dr. Brian Adler, who was the driving force at GSW in developing this agreement. “The interdisciplinary possibilities are almost limitless, and I expect our faculty will be eager to explore ways our students can further their research and educational opportunities by working with the site.”
The signing of this Memorandum of Under- standing (MOU) formalizes an existing relationship between the Park and GSW. The two sides already collaborate each year to host the Prisoner of War/ Missing in Action (POW/MIA) Convocation on the GSW campus, and on occasion, Georgia Southwest- ern students perform internships at the park during the academic year. Andersonville National Historic Site was autho- rized by Congress in 1970 as a unit of the National Park System. Twenty-five years after the end of the Civil War, the site was cared for by the Grand Army of the Republic, a veteran’s organization, and its aux-
Photo: Stephen Snyder
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