Contact: Robbie Ward
A national authority on culture, heritage and sustainable development will speak to some 200 state public officials expected March 27 for a Mississippi State seminar sponsored by the university's Carl Small Town Center.
The daylong program at Giles Hall's Bettersworth Auditorium is focusing on the economic and design importance of recreation, the arts, historic preservation, and tourism.
Dan Shilling, author of "Civic Tourism: The Poetry and Politics of Place," will deliver the keynote address for the second program of its kind organized by the center. He is a former Arizona Humanities Council executive director and Kettering Foundation Fellow.
"Shilling and other speakers during the seminar will give public officials tools to become advocates of good design," said Carl Center director John Poros. "The program will help them learn how to become better community leaders through the design process, while ensuring that all voices are heard."
Also scheduled is a workshop titled "Working2Play" involving an array of national and state speakers discussing the importance of design and livability improvements for Mississippi towns and cities.
Other speakers will include David Preziosi, executive director of the Mississippi Heritage Trust; Malcolm White, executive director of the Mississippi Arts Commission; and Whit Hughes, deputy director for economic development at the Mississippi Development Authority.
Officials attending the entire seminar will receive two continuing education credits from the Mississippi Municipal League.
Established in 1979, the Carl Small Town Center is the research and service arm of the School of Architecture, a part of MSU's College of Architecture, Art and Design. It provides specialized assistance in the redevelopment of downtown areas and other similar community improvement projects.
Interested members of the news media are invited to attend any and all seminar sessions. For more information, contact Tracy Quinn at 662-325-2207 or cstcinfo@caad.msstate.edu, or visit www.carlsmalltowncenter.org .
For more information about Mississippi State University, see http://www.msstate.edu/.