Oregon Governor Kate Brown has appointed School of Planning, Public Policy and Management (PPPM) Assistant Professor John Arroyo to serve on the State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation for the term January 2020 to January 2024.
“The opportunity to serve on the SACHP brings together my 20 years of work in planning, urban design, cultural landscapes, public history, and cultural resource management. I’m excited to help advise the State of Oregon to develop a more inclusive roster of National Register landmarks that represent, celebrate, and preserve diverse histories across the state,” Arroyo said. “That charge is especially rewarding in Oregon, where the history of natural environments and cultural landscapes are just as significant as their counterparts in the built environment.”
The State Advisory Committee on Historic Preservation (SACHP), a division of Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, is a nine-member group that reviews nominations to the National Register of Historic Places.
“We are thrilled by Governor Brown’s appointment of Assistant Professor Arroyo,” said Rich Margerum, PPPM director and professor. “The School of PPPM has a long history of working with agencies, local governments, and nonprofit organizations across Oregon, and this appointment not only provides important expertise to the State, but will also create opportunities for joint research and student engagement.”
Arroyo—who specializes in urban planning and design, community development, migration studies, local immigration policy, urban inequality, creative placemaking, and more—joins archaeologist Jacqueline Cheung, historic preservationist Heidi Slaybaugh, Southern Oregon University Professor of Anthropology Mark Tveskov, historic preservationist Julie Osborne, Executive Director of the Maxville Heritage Interpretive Center Gwendolyn Trice, Cultural Resources Department Manager for the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon David Harrelson, and historian Stephen Mark, and Pamplin Professor of History, Emeritus, Stephen Down Beckham.
The members are professionally recognized in the fields of history, architecture, archaeology, and other related disciplines. The committee holds public meetings in February, June, and October each year at different locations throughout the state.
Arroyo joined PPPM at College of Design in 2019. He is a member of the the Access and Equity Research Group along with PPPM Associate Professor Gerardo Sandoval and PPPM Assistant Professor José Meléndez.
“As the demographics of the state shift with new waves of immigration in both urban and rural settings, I remain a firm believer that we can’t look to the future without knowing our past,” Arroyo said. “History—and our access to it—matters. Evaluating Oregon’s applications to the National Register of Historic Places is one way to elevate the stories of all Oregonians into the living archive of our nation.”
Read more about Arroyo and the SACHP members at the Oregon Parks & Recreation Department Oregon Heritage and National Register site.