In the second part of a three-lecture series on Tuesday, the director of the Wisconsin Historical Society said public history institutions should continue to find new ways to connect to the community despite budget cuts and low attendance.

"The community is key" to the institutions' success, according to Ellsworth Brown. "We have an obligation to share what we know… equally, what our history is."

Brown suggested that public history institutions embrace marketing and the values of business in order to understand the audience.

"It's about the people" and appealing to their wants and needs, he said.

"The power of the community to pull through hard times" — such as when hurricanes Katrina and Rita ripped through the Gulf states — "depends on if people have a sense of their past," Brown said, which can be found in public history institutions.

Brown also addressed the focus of the series, which is to reveal other ways students can utilize their knowledge of history.

"A liberal arts education is essential to perform in public history," he said. "It is also important to… specialized history."

The Wisconsin Historical Society maintains archives, a library, other preservations, a publishing program and an education program, Brown said. A museum's description, in comparison, is not as broad.

College of Arts & Sciences freshman Emily Bird said she attended the meeting for extra credit in her Western Civilization course.

"It was an interesting take to presenting history to the public, and how the public influences presentation," she said.

Lezlie Knox, an assistant professor of history who introduced Brown, said the series was created "for students to learn more about public history."

"History prepares you for many careers," she said.

Associate Professor of History John Krugler, who recruited Brown to speak at Marquette, said the series is designed to "provide students with knowledge on careers in history (for) majors and interdisciplinary minors."

Krugler said he wanted students to know their future career path, with the major or minor, does not only lead to teaching, but to other careers as well — such as Brown's position as historical society director.

Krugler said that Brown was "very agreeable" to talk about history organizations.

It's "part of Dr. Brown's outreach," he said.

The lecture series features nationally known prominent public historians. The first lecture, which was not open to the public, featured David Vanderstel and was at the beginning of September. Vanderstel is the executive director of the National Council on Public History, which Krugler said is the main organization for public history.

The final lecture of the series will be next semester, but Krugler said he has yet to set a date and is still working to confirm the speaker. Any questions can be directed to Krugler, whose office is in Coughlin Hall 200.

The series is sponsored by the College of Arts & Sciences with help from the Mellon Grant. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation makes grants in five program areas: higher education, conservation and the environment, museums and art conservation, public affairs, and the performing arts, according to the foundation's Web site, www.mellon.org.

This article was published in The Marquette Tribune on September 29, 2005.,”James A. Molnar”

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