BAC Student Awarded Landscape Preservation Fellowship
Historic Preservation Graduate Student, Cheryl Miller, awarded 2014 Rudy J. Favretti Fellowship

The Boston Architectural College is pleased to announce that Cheryl Miller, a student in the College's Master of Design Studies in Historic Preservation program and Landscape Institute Alumni, was awarded the 2014 Rudy J. Favretti Fellowship.

In a continuing effort to build a comprehensive record of historic gardens in the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Garden Club of Virginia (GCV) offers fellowship programs for graduate students working towards a MLA or equivalent program. Fellows, under the supervision of professional landscape architect, William D. Rieley of Rieley and Associates in Charlottesville, Virginia, will create a final report with measured drawings and a written history of their assigned property. GCV fellows receive a $6,000 stipend for the three-month program as well as compensation for project related living and travel expenses.

Graduate students enrolled in an accredited landscape architecture or equivalent program such as landscape or architectural history, archaeology, historic preservation, or horticulture are invited to apply, and are selected by The Research Fellowship Committee consisting of members of the Garden Club of Virginia, professional landscape architects, practitioners in the field of horticulture and historic preservation, and educators. Only one student is selected to receive each of the two available fellowships: The Rudy J. Favretti Fellowship and William D. Rieley Fellowship.

Cheryl, this year's recipient of the 2014 Rudy J. Favretti Fellowship, will be studying the gardens and grounds of Belvoir Farms Estate in The Plains, VA. She will spend three months visiting, researching and documenting the selected historic site under the supervision of the landscape architect for the Garden Club of Virginia, William D. Rieley, of Rieley & Associates, Charlottesville, Virginia.

Cheryl earned a certificate in Landscape Design from the Landscape Institute (LI) at the Boston Architectural College in 2011, where she identified her interest in historical landscape preservation while completing her design capstone project, "Placemaking in Historic South Natick." She is currently enrolled in the College's Master of Design Studies program in Historic Preservation (MDS-HP), augmenting her interest specifically in historic landscape preservation through an independent study with LI instructor Phyllis Andersen. The low-residency online format of the MDS-HP enables Cheryl to pursue the degree from Richmond, VA where she lives and will engage in the fellowship opportunity. Cheryl also holds a Ph.D. in Molecular Genetics and Cell Biology from the University of Chicago, and a Bachelor's Degree in Biology from the University of Pennsylvania.

The Garden Club of Virginia is an association of 47 clubs whose members are made up of more than 3,300 civic leaders throughout the state. These members are dedicated to promoting gardening among amateurs; protecting native trees, wild flowers and birds; encouraging conservation of natural resources; promoting civic planting; encouraging roadside beautification, and aiding in the restoration and preservation of historic gardens in Virginia. Most notably, the Garden Club of Virginia is recognized for its Historic Garden Week, a nine-day statewide open house of private and public gardens. Income from the tour is used to fund restoration projects of historic gardens and landscapes which are open to the public throughout Virginia. Over fourteen million dollars has been raised since its inception in 1929, enabling more than forty historic sites to have been restored.

The Master of Design Studies in Historic Preservation at the BAC addresses the technical and cultural issues confronting today's preservationists. Students explore the philosophical and ethical roots of preservation and gain practical experience in preservation, restoration and rehabilitation of historic structures and sites. It is delivered in a low-residency format that combines online and face-to-face learning. For the first time, students and working professionals earn accredited masters degrees in historic preservation from wherever they live and work. Key to the low-residency format are brief periods of study at the BAC's Newbury Street campus, in which students use Boston's historic built environment as a laboratory.

The Landscape Institute at the BAC offers certificates, courses, workshops, and special programs in landscape design, stewardship, history, horticulture, sustainability, and preservation. The LI mission is to provide a broad understanding of the natural and cultural influences that shape the designed and built environment, to prepare students for leadership in landscape design, stewardship, and preservation action. The program's comprehensive offerings are for the design novice as well as seasoned professionals. Courses are open enrollment; some are onsite, online, or a combination of the two.