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​began September 2022
Madeline Hagerman came to the conservation field through her love of history and desire to know the stories behind everyday objects. She received a Master of Arts in Principles of Conservation and a Master of Science in Conservation for Museums and Archaeology from University College London, completing internships in the Ceramics, Glass, and Metals Conservation Lab at the British Museum, the Institute of Archaeology Collections, London's Natural History Museum, and UCL's NASA Regional Planetary Images Facility. After graduation, she spent two years as a postgraduate fellow in objects conservation at Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library. She is currently the Director of the Undergraduate Art Conservation Program and Assistant Professor at the University of Delaware. She also serves as an Assistant Coordinating Officer for the ICOM-CC Education and Training Working Group.
TOPIC: The development and evolution of objects conservation education and training programs
Observing the differences between her training at both British and American conservation programs inspired Hagerman to pursue a PhD in Preservation Studies. This topic will survey objects conservation training programs around the world, building connections with colleagues in other countries, and explore where the field is heading. The field of conservation is at a watershed moment. Propelled by social movements, we are facing our field's historical inequities and grappling with the gatekeeping that graduate programs impose on the field, dictating who is allowed to be a conservator. Though leaders in the conservation field have explored pieces of the history of conservation education, this PhD will build a comprehensive portrait of where we came from, the current state of conservation education, and where we can go from here. ​
