Award Recipient: Christine Capella-Peters
Regional Representative for the New York State Historic Preservation Office
Award Recipient: George W. Curry
Distinguished Teaching Professor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry
Christine Capella-Peters, Regional Representative for the New York State Historic Preservation Office, and George W. Curry, Distinguished Teaching Professor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, receive Civic Education Award at the OCL Annual Meeting. Onondaga Citizens League announced the recipients of the 2008 Levi L. Smith Civic Education Award at its annual meeting on June 11. Christine Capella-Peters, Regional Representative for the New York State Historic Preservation Office, and George W. Curry, Distinguished Teaching Professor at the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry, were recognized for their contributions to the Syracuse community. Capella-Peters and Curry were honored for their dedication to educating students, developers, public officials, and neighborhood and civic groups on historic preservation, urban planning, and neighborhood revitalization.
A recognized expert in State historic preservation, Capella-Peters was appointed to the City’s newly formed Public Art Commission by Mayor Matt Driscoll in 2007 to help keep public art in the forefront of municipal planning. Capella-Peters is editor of The Secretary of the Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for the Treatment of Cultural Landscapes produced by the National Park Service.
Curry, a professor in the Department of Landscape Architecture at the College of Environmental Science and Forestry, State University of New York, has been involved with a variety of preservation activities for over 20 years. He was a member and chair of the Syracuse Landmark Preservation Board for 13 years, and is a general partner in three historic rehabilitation projects in downtown Syracuse and involved in the renaissance of Armory Square. As co-instructors in urban design courses for 16 years, Capella-Peters and Curry supervised hundreds of students who produced design plans benefiting the community, and have also worked on the Downtown Master Plan and contributed significantly to the revitalization strategy for Downtown Syracuse.
The 2008 Levi L. Smith Civic Education Award was named for the founder and former executive vice president of the Citizens League and honors an outstanding citizen or organization that has contributed to the field and practice of civic education in Central New York. Recipients have demonstrated understanding of and commitment to citizen education and involvement in public affairs.
The Onondaga Citizens League is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization designed to promote citizen education and involvement in public affairs. OCL was created in 1978 by a group of concerned citizens to study problems and propose solutions to issues facing Central New York. The League does not promote specific legislation nor function as a lobbying group. For more information, visit the web site,http://onondagacitzensleague.org or call 315-443-3271.