Reports by the Jenrette Foundation
Forging a future for historic preservation, historic landscapes, and the decorative arts
In 2024, following the adoption of its new strategic plan, the Jenrette Foundation launched a multi-year initiative to deepen knowledge across its core mission areas and strengthen its role as a national convener. Through a series of reports, the initiative examines key disciplines to identify opportunities for greater impact through grantmaking, programming, and partnerships.
The series includes The State of American Decorative Arts and The State of Historic Preservation Education (2025), The State of Historic and Cultural Landscapes (2026), and The State of Historic Building Trades and Craft Training (2027). Each report combines expert advisory input, case studies, field observations, and survey data gathered through convenings to develop analysis and recommendations. The findings inform the Foundation’s strategic decisions and are publicly shared to advance learning and leadership across these fields.
The State of American Historic and Cultural Landscapes
Jenrette Foundation report calls for stewarding the cultural, ecological, and historical significance of landscapes by embracing change.
“Landscapes are at the center of public debate,” says Jenrette Foundation President Benjamin Prosky, “ and when landscapes are excluded or destroyed, their power to inspire is diminished if not lost. When landscapes are misunderstood, the lessons they hold are obscured or forgotten. The Jenrette Foundation recognizes this is time for testing assumptions to make sure our frameworks are adequate to the realities we face.” Based, in part, on a June 2026 convening of the Advisory Committee on Historic and Cultural Landscapes, the report argues that the future of landscape preservation depends on moving beyond the goal of maintaining places in a single historical condition. Instead, it calls for a more adaptive, interdisciplinary approach that sustains the cultural, historical, ecological, and social significance of landscapes as they evolve. It also emphasizes the importance of recognizing intangible heritage, including oral histories, traditional practices, collective memory, and community knowledge, alongside physical features and archival evidence.
Special thanks to the members of our Advisory Committee on Historic and Cultural Landscapes:
Charles A. Birnbaum, President and CEO, The Cultural Landscape Foundation and Lecturer in Landscape Architecture, Harvard Graduate School of Design; Kofi Boone, Joseph D. Moore Distinguished Professor of Landscape Architecture and Environment, North Carolina State University; Cari Goetcheus, Professor in the College of Environment + Design, University of Georgia; Gary Hilderbrand, Peter Louis Hornbeck Professor in Practice of Landscape Architecture and Chair of the, Department of Landscape Architecture, Harvard University Graduate School of Design; Jon Marcoux, Director, Research Labs of Archaeology, University of North Carolina; Robert W. Melnick, Professor Emeritus and Former Dean, School of Architecture and Allied Arts, University of Oregon; Elizabeth K. Meyer, Merrill D. Peterson Professor, Landscape Architecture; Faculty Director, UVA/Morven, Sustainability Lab, University of Virginia; Suzanne Turner, Professor Emeritus, School of Landscape Architecture, Louisiana State University; Rosetta S. Elkin, Professor of Architecture, Landscape Architecture and Urban Design, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn.
Jenrette Foundation staff lead: Joseph Beatty, PhD, Director of Operations
Questions? connect@jenrette.org
The State of Historic Preservation Education
New Jenrette Foundation report on historic preservation education calls for rebranding, resilience, and workforce growth.
“Preservation is at a critical juncture,” said Benjamin Prosky, President of the Jenrette Foundation. “The way we teach and engage the next generation today will determine whether the field thrives—or stagnates. This is about building shared futures, not just saving old structures.” In 2025, the Jenrette Foundation published “The State of Historic Preservation Education in America,” a landmark report that calls for a fundamental reset in how America understands, teaches, and practices historic preservation. Working with its Historic Preservation Education Advisory Committee and based, in part on a June 2025 convening in Washington, D.C., the Jenrette Foundation advanced a series of recommendations to rebrand the effort, integrate hands-on learning, bridge academia and practice, frame preservation as an economic engine, and elevate collections and access.
Special thanks to our Historic Preservation Advisory Committee
Douglas Appler, Ph.D. University of Kentucky; Laurel Bartlett, Ph.D. Clemson University; Benjamin Ibarra-Sevilla University of Texas; Paul Kapp University of Notre Dame; Amalia Leifeste University of Oregon; Randall Mason, Ph.D. University of Pennsylvania; Jorge Otero-Pailos, Ph.D. Columbia University; Andrea Smith, Ph.D. University of Mary Washington; Anne Sullivan, FAIA Art Institute of Chicago; Michael Tomlan, Ph.D. Cornell University; Heather Veneziano Tulane University; and Vicki Weiner Pratt Institute.
Jenrette Foundation staff lead: Will Hamilton, Director of Historic Preservation.
The State of American Decorative Arts
Jenrette Foundation report on the state of American decorative arts calls for inclusion and investment
“This is a moment of reckoning and reinvention,” said Benjamin Prosky, President of the Jenrette Foundation. “The field of decorative arts is expanding beyond traditional definitions and asking deeper questions about inclusion, stewardship, and public relevance.” In 2025, the Jenrette Foundation published “The State of American Decorative Arts,” a landmark report that highlights a sector in flux—grappling with financial strain, evolving institutional priorities, and the need for greater diversity, accessibility, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Working with its Decorative Arts Advisory Committee and based, in part on a January 2025 convening in New York City, the Jenrette Foundation advanced recommendations for the decorative arts about funding exhibitions, expanding public access, supporting professional development, and embracing interdisciplinary research.
Special thanks to our Decorative Arts Advisory Committee
Daniel Ackermann, Bayou Bend/MFA Houston; David Barquist, Philadelphia Museum of Art; Dennis Carr, The Huntington; Ruthie Dibble, Peabody Essex Museum; Nonnie Frelinghuysen, American Wing, Metropolitan Museum of Art; John Stuart Gordon, Yale University Art Gallery; Erica Lome, Historic New England; Kayli Rideout, The Morse Museum; Susan Weber, Bard Graduate Center.
Jenrette Foundation staff lead: Grant Quertermous, Curator & Director of Collections
UNIQUELY JENRETTE
Connect
Join us in our work to study the history of American classical design. Participate in upcoming educational programs and events and stay connected to preservation, craft, architectural conservation, and historic landscapes.