This website is a collaboration between faculty, students, and staff at the University of Connecticut and The Fairfield Museum.
Museum Staff Who Created This Exhibit
Michael A. Jehle, Executive Director
Michael Jehle has been a museum professional for more than 25 years and has served as Executive Director of FMHC since 2006. He guided the organization's transformation from a locally focused historical society to a more regional, audience-focused museum and community center. Jehle oversaw the development of the exhibition, and managed contractual relationships, budget and workflow.
Elizabeth Rose, Library Director
Elizabeth Rose is a historian of women's history, education and family history. She has a Ph.D. from Rutgers University; is the author of A Mother's Job: The History of Day Care, 1890-1960 and The Promise of Preschool: From Head Start to Universal Pre-kindergarten; and has taught at Vanderbilt University, Trinity College, Wesleyan University and Central Connecticut State University. She oversaw the content development and did most of the research and writing for the exhibit.
Casey M. Lewis, Curator
Casey Lewis was curator at the museum during the year preceding the exhibition's opening. She has a MA degree in History Museum Studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program and had previously been the curator at the Chemung County Historical Society in New York. She selected objects from the museum's collection for the exhibition and managed their display.
Christine Jewell, Director of Education
Christine Jewell has worked for 14 years as a museum educator and has been with FMHC since 2007. She develops K-12 educational programs that support museum learning and critical thinking for students and teachers. Education programs include field trips, outreach programs and professional development that reinforce the curriculum and complements the exhibition's humanities themes. She contributed to the development of the exhibit's themes and content in order to ensure they would support educational objectives.
Walter Matis, Program and Volunteer Coordinator
Program and Volunteer Coordinator Walter Matis has been an educator at FMHC since 2004, assisting in the development and implementation of adult and children's programs and presenting school programs on- and off-site. He is involved in the development and implementation of education programs relating to the exhibit.
Exhibit Designer: Vertical Design Vertical is led by Christopher Molinsky, RA NCARB. Chris creates successful environments that consistently serve client goals through his 20+ years of trusted leadership in design and project management.
UConn Faculty and Students Who Created the Footnotes
Dr. Alan Marcus, Associate Professor
Alan Marcus is an Associate Professor of history education at the Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut where he runs the social studies/history education program. He is a former high school social studies teacher and earned his doctorate at Stanford University. His scholarship focuses on museum education and teaching with film. He recently co-authored "Teaching History with Museums: Strategies for K-12 Social Studies" (Routledge, 2012).
Jennifer Kowitt, Doctoral Student
Jennifer Kowitt is a doctoral student in the Department of Educational Psychology at the Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut. Her research interests include out-of-school learning environments (in particular museums) and their use by students with disabilities. She is a former art museum educator, having worked at the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, CT and the Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY. She has her B.A. in History of Art from Yale University and her M.A. in History of Art from Bristol University, Bristol, England.
Michael Stroneski, Master’s Student & Pre-service teacher
Mike Stroneski is a graduate student enrolled in the social studies pre-service teacher preparation program at the Neag School of Education, University of Connecticut. He has twice visited museums in Europe to analyze how they present World War II and is currently collaborating with peers on creating an exhibit for the Connecticut Museum of Natural History.