History

HPPA was founded in 1985, although the idea of incorporation was presented in 1984, and a working group was formed during the National Trust Conference that year. The working group was charged with preparing a set of by-laws (which were amended in 1989), outlining a mission, and developing a membership list, and identifying programs and services that would be supported by the group. The first meeting of the board was held in the spring of 1985. One of the original members of HPPA went on to found PSSO, the Preservation Studies Student Organization. Our main source of funding comes from the annual map sale.

The Board is guided by three objectives:

1. Program Support: HPPA will promote and support the Historic Preservation Planning program at Cornell University and its participants;

2. Member Support: HPPA will facilitate contact between members, inform members of preservation topics and to provide a forum for the exchange of ideas and dissemination of information concerning the program, the field and current issues;

3. Community Education and Support for the Profession: HPPA will advance the knowledge of members and the community at large regarding preservation issues, activities and developments in the field.

Today, the Board fulfills these objectives in many ways, including but not limited to, providing funds to students for travel to conferences and class trips, organizing and hosting the Cornell Alumni Reception at the National Trust for Historic Preservation Conference, producing and distributing newsletters, providing career advice to students and alumni, addressing issues related to profession practice through lectures at Cornell, and providing membership assistance.

The Board is made up of alumni who attended the program between 19xx and 20xx, as well as one faculty representative and one representative from PSSO, the Preservation Studies Student Organization. The two non-alumni members are non-voting participants; however, their presence on the Board is part of the overall objective that there be good and useful communication and coordination between the alumni, the students and the faculty. The Board represents many different areas of historic preservation practice, different lengths of experiences in this profession, and many different regions of country.

In 2006, the Board took a hard look at itself and decided that they needed a Strategic Plan to help guide the current and future members of the Board and to provide alumni with a sense of the Boards direction. The following is the mission statement from the Strategic Plan Committee, headed by Vice-President Permuy, which identifies goals and objectives the Board is interested in pursuing. The draft of the Strategic Plan is expected to undergo minor changes in the next few months, although the Board is close to completing this document. The final Strategic Plan will appear on this website. In addition, the Board is providing input for the Historic Preservation Planning programs Strategic Plan, currently being drafted.

Mission Statement

The Board of Directors (Board) of the Historic Preservation Planning Alumni, Inc. (HPPA) feel the time has come to seriously reflect on the organizations purpose and determine how it can better accomplish its goals and objectives. The mission of the HPPA is to promote and support the Historic Preservation Planning program, its students and its alumni. Approaching its Twenty-fifth (25th) Anniversary and the Thirty-fifth (35th) Anniversary of the Historic Preservation Planning (HPP) Program in 2010, the Board would like to carefully/thoughtfully and creatively plan for its active and influential role during this significant period. The Strategic Plan is an attempt to clearly define the organizations goals and objectives and how it plans to achieve them. With this better understanding and with a clear framework in which to work with, the HPPA will be more successful in fulfilling its mission.

One of the first steps the Board has taken as a result of the Strategic Plan discussions is the development of HPPAs first foray on the web: www.hppalumni.org. It is the hope that the Board can accomplish all of its objectives by providing access to information for alumni in one place. This site will include allow alumni to renew their memberships online, alumni and students will be able to catch up on the accomplishments of other members, current and past issues of the newsletter will be available, members will be able to access a calendar with important dates for students and alumni, interested parties will be able to get information about the HPP program at Cornell, including the HPP Strategic Plan (currently being drafted), and visitors will find links to preservation-related websites, such as Preservnet. In the future the Board hopes to provide an online alumni directory, opportunities for discussion groups and possibly a weblog for preservation-related news and issues to be posted, as well as an Alumni List serve.

Our Board of Directors (2010-2011)

Samantha Bosshart, President

David Dean, Vice President

Beth Johnson, Treasurer

Liz Blazevich, Secretary

Our Board

Sigrid JJ Bergland

David Bergstone

Liz Blazevich

Jayme Breschard

Jenny Buddenborg

Jeffrey M. Chusid (Faculty representative)

David Dean

Jessica Evans

Maya Henry

Carey Jones

Jonathon Rusch (PSSO representative)

Lindsey Wallace

Lifetime Members