Athens, Ga. – Dexter Adams and Janine Duncan recently were honored with the Governor’s Award for Historic Preservation Stewardship for spearheading a long-term protection strategy for the Old Athens Cemetery located on the University of Georgia’s North Campus. The awards program recognizes state employees for outstanding leadership and achievement in preserving historic state-owned or administered properties.
Adams, director of the university’s grounds department, requested in 2006 that a preservation plan be developed with the help of a consulting firm specializing in historic cemeteries. The plan was created by the Chicora Foundation, Inc., and in 2007 led to a university commitment to protect the site.
Duncan campus planning coordinator, also has been an advocate for the cemetery’s preservation. She helped survey the grounds, and compiled historical documentation, archaeological surveys, and GIS mapping into a report used to nominate the site for the National and Georgia Registers of Historic Places.
Both award-winners are graduates of UGA’s College of Environment and Design. Adams received a bachelor of landscape architecture in 1976 and master’s in 2004. Duncan received a master of historic preservation in 2007.
The recognition from the governor comes just as the College of Environment and Design celebrates Historic Preservation Month in April. As part of the celebration, Duncan and MHP graduate student Lindsey Kerr will host a tour of North Campus, including the historic cemetery. The tour starts at 4 p.m. on April 17 in the Founders Memorial Garden.
The cemetery is Athens’ first and oldest public cemetery. It has not been an active burial place since the early 1900s, and has faced pressures from the ongoing development of the University of Georgia campus. It is now a protected site listed on the Georgia Register of Historic Places, and has been recommended to the national register.
For more information on the awards program, see http://www.gashpo.org/. To learn more about Historic Preservation Month, see http://www.ced.uga.edu/.