Oberlin Heritage Center Staff
Patricia Murphy, Executive Director
Patricia
Murphy has been the executive director of the Oberlin Heritage Center
since 1993. As the first director, she has helped the organization
to develop a tour program, a calendar of public events and school programs,
a membership of over 700 individuals, businesses and organizations, and
volunteer and intern programs. She also has provided leadership in strategic
planning, development, master planning, and accreditation. She was designated
Oberlinian of the Year by the Oberlin News-Tribune in 2006. She is also
the recipient of a 2005 Grinnell College Alumni Award and an Outstanding
Individual Achievement Award from the Ohio Association of Historical Societies
and Museums in 1999. She currently serves on the City of Oberlin Historic
Preservation Commission, and is Second Vice President to the board of
the Ohio Association of Historical Societies and Museums. She serves as
a Peer Reviewer for the American Association of Museums and the Institute
for Museum and Library Services.
Pat graduated from Grinnell College in history and French, and received her Master of Architectural History degree from the University of Virginia. She is a graduate of the Seminar for Historical Administration at Colonial Williamsburg and the Getty Museum Management Institute. She has served as a historic preservation consultant in Cleveland and Los Angeles and with the Minnesota State Historic Preservation Office of the Minnesota Historical Society. Previous positions include Senior Planner in Urban Conservation for the City of Pasadena, Docent Training and Research Assistant at Frank Lloyd Wright's Hollyhock House (Los Angeles), Research Associate for the National Federation of State Humanities Councils, and Executive Director of the Historic Preservation Trust of Lancaster County (Pennsylvania). She was guest curator for a University of Minnesota Gallery traveling exhibit on "Minnesota Master Architect: Cass Gilbert" and her articles on Cass Gilbert have appeared in publications of the American Institute of Architects and The National Trust for Historic Preservation. She directed a two-year Historic Sites Survey of the City of St. Paul, Minnesota. She has prepared many National Register nominations (including the Downtown Oberlin Historic District and the Gasholder House), landmark designations, surveys, preservation plans, and design guidelines for non-profit organizations, local governments, businesses and individuals.