Suzanne Deal Booth Institute for Heritage Preservation
Building on six decades of experience safeguarding cultural heritage, World Monuments Fund (WMF) launched the Suzanne Deal Booth Institute for Heritage Preservation (the Institute) to serve as a strategic center for training, thought leadership, and professional engagement. The Institute works to expand and support the field of cultural heritage while demonstrating its relevance to our world today.
The Institute has four key areas of activity: Academic Partnerships, Heritage Trades Training, Professional Networks, and Research & Education. Through activities in these areas, the Institute establishes innovative field schools and international training hubs to prepare the next generation of heritage professionals, conducts and publicizes groundbreaking research and innovative approaches, and leverages strategic partnerships with academic and professional institutions to shape the future of the field.
The Institute is made possible by a generous $10 million endowment gift from leading advocate for cultural heritage preservation, collector, philanthropist, and vintner Suzanne Deal Booth.
Academic Partnerships
The Institute partners with academic institutions around the globe to help develop the next generation of heritage professionals and expand the field through WMF project-related research.
Heritage Trades Training
The Institute heritage trades training programs equip technicians and craftspeople with the skills needed to repair and restore the world’s cultural heritage.
Professional Networks
The Institute shapes and coordinates WMF’s networks of practitioners, facilitating knowledge sharing and making available new preservation tools and approaches.
Research & Education
The Institute supports essential research related to WMF’s field projects and shares lessons learned through talks, conferences, and publication in leading journals and periodicals. As part of this work, the Institute oversees all archival activities for WMF’s six decades of professional documentation, reports, and visual assets, with a view towards making these materials available to researchers, site managers, students, and the general public.
Too Much and Never Enough: Water and the Changing Relationship with Heritage Places
Watch nowJonathan S. Bell, PhD delivers the 2025 Keynote at the Association for Preservation Technology (APT) Annual Conference, titled Too Much and Never Enough: Water and the Changing Relationship with Heritage Places.
REMP (Risk and Emergency Management Plan) for Rapa Nui
Read nowThe Risk and Emergency Management Plan for Rapa Nui National Park was developed in collaboration with Ma’u Henua and local stakeholders, providing a framework to strengthen preparedness and response to natural and human-made threats affecting Rapa Nui National Park.
News and Updates
Suzanne Deal Booth Institute for Heritage Preservation Launched with $19M in Funding as Part of 60th Anniversary Endowment Campaign
Read nowWMF announced the launch of a $60 million endowment campaign on the occasion of the organization’s 60th anniversary—a landmark effort to ensure the long-term sustainability of global cultural heritage preservation.
