Two members of the Arkansas Tech University faculty and one City of Russellville administrator received the Preserve Arkansas Outstanding Achievement in Preservation Education Award in recognition of their leadership of an interdisciplinary project-based leadership course at ATU.
Dr. Julie Mikles-Schluterman, ATU professor of sociology and director of the ATU Center for Community Engagement and Academic Outreach, and Dr. Patrick Hagge, ATU professor of geography, taught the course with assistance from Sara Jondahl, director of sustainability and resilience for the City of Russellville.
The trio was honored by Preserve Arkansas for a class project that analyzed Russellville neighborhoods in order to determine their potential for historic register eligibility.
“The course focused on the El Paso residential neighborhood just south of the Arkansas Tech Russellville campus,” said Hagge. “Thousands of city land parcels were narrowed down to properties in the El Paso area. Students completed hundreds of architectural surveys while traversing the neighborhood on foot. Ultimately, the class presented their findings at a public meeting of the Russellville Historic District Commission, chaired by Betsy McGuire.”
The award-winning elective course will be offered to ATU students of all majors in spring 2027. The team of Mikles-Schluterman, Hagge and Jondahl will once again provide leadership for the class, which will be offered under the dual titles Urban Geography (GEOG 3603) and Sociology Capstone (SOC 4283).
Send e-mail to jmiklesschluterman@atu.edu or phagge@atu.edu for more information about the spring 2027 course.
