Adjunct Associate Professor Dr. Dennis Pogue has been named Interim Director of the University of Maryland’s Historic Preservation program. Dennis will begin a one-year, renewable term in May when the current director, Dr. Donald Linebaugh, transitions to the role of Interim Dean of the School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation.
Dr. Pogue has over 35 years of experience as both an educator and practitioner—with roots in archeology, museum administration and historic preservation—focusing on the study and interpretation of material culture throughout Virginia and Maryland. He served as director of the archeology program and vice president for preservation at George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate, Museum & Gardens, where he oversaw the preservation and maintenance of the historic buildings for 25 years. His current research focuses primarily on identifying, documenting and preserving the domestic architecture of Chesapeake slavery. Dr. Pogue has published extensively and lectured widely on topics relating to historical archaeology, vernacular architecture, early American history, George Washington and his Mount Vernon plantation. He is the author of the award-winning book, Founding Spirits: George Washington and the Beginnings of the American Whiskey Industry (Harbour Press, 2011), the result of a 10-year effort to study and reconstruct Washington’s whiskey distillery. His articles have appeared in Historical Archaeology, Winterthur Portfolio, and the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography. He has shared his knowledge and experience as a practitioner with the University of Maryland community since 2013.
Dr. Pogue received his BA in history from the University of Iowa, his MA in American Civilization from the George Washington University, and his PhD in Anthropology with a focus on historical archaeology from the American University in Washington, D.C.
“I am thrilled that Dennis agreed to take on this important assignment for the School and am confident that he will do a great job leading preservation at Maryland,” said Dr. Don Linebaugh.