7/15/2003
Contact: K.E. Schwab --
724-738-2199; e-mail: karl.schwab@sru.edu
SRU PROFESSOR GETS $205,000 U.S. ARMY CORPS OF
ENGINEERS CONTRACT;
WILL GIVE
PARKS-REC MAJORS HANDS ON EXPERIENCE IN PARK
OPERATIONS
SLIPPERY
ROCK, Pa. -- Parks and recreation/environmental education majors at
Slippery Rock University are reaping the rewards of a$205,000
contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers given Dr. John F.
Lisco, assistant professor, as they deliver lectures, operate tours
and provide related historical information at the Bulltown Visitor
Center and Bulltown Historical Area at Burnsville Lake, W.
Va.
“This
is a tremendous opportunity for our students,” Lisco
explains, pointing out, “The entire project is student
centered. In addition to operating the Bulltown Visitor Center, our
students are developing and implementing quality interpretive
programs at the nearby Bulltown Historical Area. The area includes
themes such as natural history and ecology, frontier settlement,
the Civil War and the Battle of Bulltown. It also covers
Appalachian cultural heritage. SRU students will offer interpretive
talks, guided walks, campfire programs, slide shows, films and
documentaries, demonstrations, and living history programs. They
will develop brochures, trail and visitor center exhibits in
addition to curriculum-based school outreach
programs.”
Burnsville
Lake, which is visited by more than 600,000 people annually, is
located on the Little Kanawha River in Braxton County, W. Va., The
Bulltown Historical Area is 10 miles off Interstate 79 near Napier,
W. Va., The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers manages the park by
providing flood and water quality control, recreation, several
campgrounds, and fish and wildlife management.
The
contract, presented through a standard bidding procedure, provides
for up to four years of tuition, fees, stipends and summer salaries
for a graduate assistant. It will also employ two SRU parks and
recreation/environmental education students per summer for the next
five years. Overall, the contract allows SRU to provide
professional park interpretive experience for up to 10 student
employees and two graduate assistants.
The professor
says the comprehensive contract gives SRU students overall
responsibility for developing and implementing a marketing,
promotion and recruitment plan for programs and services at the
historical area. “Students will develop a marketing video for
presentation to possible funding sources, and they will work with
local school officials in at least three counties near the park to
establish a curriculum working toward the use of the Bulltown
Historical Area as an educational laboratory for heritage arts and
both Civil War and West Virginia history,” Lisco
adds.
Under
Lisco’s leadership, students will also work with citizen
groups, including Friends of Bulltown and the Stonewall Jackson
Civil War Reenactment Unit, and provide assistance to local groups
in recruiting volunteers, generating revenue, organizing special
events and developing strategic and action plans to promote the
area. The project includes collaboration between SRU and a network
of other heritage and ecotourism organizations.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Photo available on the SRU Web site.
www.SRU.edu (then click on story for photo connection).
PN, PgN, WPN, PT, S