Sustaining the Future of Massachusetts History
2008 Massachusetts History Conference

Monday, June 9, 2008
9:00 am - 3:30 pm
Hogan Campus Center, College of the Holy Cross
Worcester

Abbott Lowell Cummings' meticulous scholarship and unique vision--into the past as well as the future--has transformed the practice of material culture study in Massachusetts. An architectural historian perhaps best-known for his longtime association with the Society for the Preservation of New England Antiquities, Abbott also helped found Boston University's New England and American Studies Program, and the Vernacular Architectural Forum.  He has made tremendous contributions to institutions beyond Massachusetts as well, including Antioch College, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Yale University.  Cummings' landmark study The Framed Houses of Massachusetts Bay, 1625-1715 is but one of dozens of influential books and articles he has produced since 1953.  His continuing impact is felt, too, in museum and historic site interpretation across the Commonwealth. Abbott Cummings' work is keenly observant, analytically penetrating and richly humane, and has come to define the way we understand our shared landscapes.

Dennis Fiori was appointed Director of the Massachusetts Historical Society in 2005.  Previously he was Director and CEO of the Maryland Historical Society, Director of the Concord Museum, Deputy Director for Programs at the Institute of Museum and Library Services in Washington, DC, and Deputy Director of the Maine Arts Commission.

Barbara Silberman is a principal with Heritage Partners Consulting, which specializes in strategic planning, audience development, and interpretation for historic sites and museums.  Silberman founded and directed the Heritage Philadelphia Program, which provided grant funding to more than 450 historical organizations in the Philadelphia region.  She currently serves as the Chair of the American Association for State and Local History Historic House Committee and is a board member of AASLH.