The Future of Preservation: Expanding Knowledge, Deepening Impact
Join World Monuments Fund and the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Historic Preservation for a lively discussion on the future of preservation.

date & time
Location
Kleinman Forum
Fisher Fine Arts Library, University of Pennsylvania
220 South 34th Street
Philadelphia, PA
Join Jonathan S. Bell, Senior Vice President for Global Preservation Strategy and Founding Director of the Suzanne Deal Booth Institute for Heritage Preservation at World Monuments Fund (WMF), and Randy Mason, Chair of the Department of Historic Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania, for a lively discussion on the future of preservation.
As the preservation field responds to changing social, environmental, and technological realities, assessing its methods and priorities is essential to advancing its impact and relevance. In this conversation, Bell and Mason will share their perspectives on where the field stands today and how their institutions are responding to and helping shape its future.
They will discuss the newly launched Suzanne Deal Booth Institute for Heritage Preservation and its role in connecting experts, students, and practitioners through expanded training programs, international field schools, and research partnerships. The conversation will explore synergies between UPenn’s Department of Historic Preservation and WMF, highlighting initiatives that link ideas with real-world practice and emphasize the role emerging professionals play in shaping an innovative and resilient preservation field.
This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
The Future of Preservation: Expanding Knowledge, Deepening Impact
Join World Monuments Fund and the University of Pennsylvania's Department of Historic Preservation for a lively discussion on the future of preservation.
date & time
Location
Kleinman Forum
Fisher Fine Arts Library, University of Pennsylvania
220 South 34th Street
Philadelphia, PA

Join Jonathan S. Bell, Senior Vice President for Global Preservation Strategy and Founding Director of the Suzanne Deal Booth Institute for Heritage Preservation at World Monuments Fund (WMF), and Randy Mason, Chair of the Department of Historic Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania, for a lively discussion on the future of preservation.
As the preservation field responds to changing social, environmental, and technological realities, assessing its methods and priorities is essential to advancing its impact and relevance. In this conversation, Bell and Mason will share their perspectives on where the field stands today and how their institutions are responding to and helping shape its future.
They will discuss the newly launched Suzanne Deal Booth Institute for Heritage Preservation and its role in connecting experts, students, and practitioners through expanded training programs, international field schools, and research partnerships. The conversation will explore synergies between UPenn’s Department of Historic Preservation and WMF, highlighting initiatives that link ideas with real-world practice and emphasize the role emerging professionals play in shaping an innovative and resilient preservation field.
This event is free and open to the public. Registration is required.
About the Speakers

Jonathan S. Bell
Jonathan S. Bell is Senior Vice President for Global Preservation Strategy and Founding Director of the Suzanne Deal Booth Institute for Heritage Preservation at World Monuments Fund, where he oversees the organization’s project portfolio and guides professional engagement through training and thought leadership. Over the course of his career, Bell has worked with the Getty Conservation Institute on World Heritage Sites in China and Egypt, evaluated cultural site management from Kazakhstan to Colombia, and overseen strategic planning for largescale flood infrastructure with the County of Los Angeles. He serves on multiple international professional scientific committees and sits on editorial boards for two academic journals and teaches at Columbia University. He holds a B.A. from Harvard University, a D.E.A from the Sorbonne in France, an M.Sc. in Historic Preservation from Columbia University and a Ph.D. in Urban Planning from UCLA.

Randy Mason
Randy Mason is a Professor and Chair of the Department of Historic Preservation at the Stuart Weitzman School of Design, where he also holds appointments in the Departments of City & Regional Planning and Landscape Architecture. His teaching and research focus on preservation history and theory, historic preservation planning, urban conservation, social justice, and cultural landscape studies. He has been at Penn since 2004, serving as HSPV Chair from 2009-2017 and Executive Director of PennPraxis from 2014-2017. His publications include: The Once and Future New York: Historic Preservation and the Modern City (University of Minnesota Press, 2009) and Giving Preservation a History: Histories of Historic Preservation in the United States (Routledge, 2019); Values in Heritage Management (Getty Publications, 2019).