The University of Maryland’s School of Architecture, Planning & Preservation announced the promotions of five faculty members in the Architecture and Historic Preservation Programs, effective Fall 2024.
Architecture Program:
Ken Filler, Assistant Clinical Professor
Ken Filler (B.S. Architecture ‘14, M.Arch ‘16) is an assistant clinical professor and repeat faculty member in the foundational design studios in the Architecture Program, ARCH 400/401. In addition to design studio, he teaches courses related to visual representation and architectural drawing, including Design Drawing: Explorations in Mixed-Media. He also experiments with visual communication strategies that promote the intersection of manual and digital drawing techniques in both practice and academia. Prior to the University of Maryland, Filler taught design studios at The George Washington University’s Interior Architecture Program and a community analysis seminar at the University of the District of Columbia.
Historic Preservation Program:
Dr. Susan Kern, Associate Professor of Historic Preservation
Susan Kern studies history and how the past is used in museums, monuments and public spaces. Before joining the University of Maryland in 2023, she led field research and directed the archaeology department at Monticello. She also served as director of Historic Campus at William & Mary and taught courses in history, material culture and museum studies in the history department. Kern’s award-winning first book, “The Jeffersons at Shadwell” (2010), draws from related fields that use the built environment to understand human behavior. Her current book project explores landmark preservation projects of the early 20th century and their lasting influence on historical imagination about early America, especially as we try to understand them as sites of slavery and America's history with race.
Dr. Stefan Woehlke, Assistant Clinical Professor
Stefan Woehlke’s work focuses on community heritage empowerment by centering descendant communities in heritage projects. He is trained as a historical archaeologist that focuses on cultural landscape analysis using geographic information systems (GIS). He also works as a digital preservationist focusing on the 3D documentation of historic structures, memorials, archaeological excavations and landscapes. Stefan teaches 3D digital documentation, archaeology and preservation field school, preservation studio and manages the Historic Preservation Archaeology Lab. His current work focuses on developing community-centered heritage projects with the African American communities that surround the University of Maryland and College Park.
Dr. John Sprinkle, Adjunct Professor
After working as a private sector historic preservation consultant for a decade, John Sprinkle served as a historian for the National Park Service from 1989 to 2022, and has taught a variety of courses for the University of Maryland’s historic preservation program since 2012. Sprinkle is the author of: “Crafting the Preservation Criteria: The Origins of the National Register of Historic Places” (2014) and “Saving Space: Historic Land Conservation in the United States” (2018). He published his most recent book, “Heritage Conservation in the United States: Enhancing the Presence of the Past” in 2023.