This past fall, College of Environment and Design professor James Reap was appointed by President Barack Obama as a new member of the Department of State’s Cultural Property Advisory Committee. Reap is one of 11 new appointees selected to aid the White House in key administrative posts.
The Cultural Property Advisory Committee, which was established in 1983, advises the president on “appropriate U.S. action in response to requests from state parties for assistance in protecting their cultural heritage.”
“These fine public servants bring a depth of experience and tremendous dedication to their important roles,” said Obama.
The members of the Cultural Property Advisory Committee serve renewable, three-year terms. Reap is one of four new members appointed in 2016. The committee’s members are broken up into certain profiles, such as anthropology, international sale of cultural property, or general public interest. (Members can only be appointed by the president.)
Reap, the CED’s coordinator of the Master of Historic Preservation program, is currently a board member of the Lawyers’ Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation, the U.S. Committee of the Blue Shield and a founding member and former board member of the Georgia Alliance and National Alliance of Preservation Commissions. He also provides training and technical assistance to preservation commissions throughout the U.S. In addition, Reap was last year’s recipient of the CED Alumni Association’s Distinguished Faculty Award.