Recent News

Sally Shelton, HMS Faculty, received the CAROLYN L. ROSE award from the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections (SPNHC).

SPNCH  the world's leading professional organization for natural history collections care and conservation, has announced that its highest honor, the Carolyn L. Rose Award, has been made to Sally Y. Shelton of the Texas Tech University Heritage and Museum Sciences faculty in 2026. 
 
The Carolyn L. Rose Award is given to a practitioner whose work and efforts have promoted the values and objectives of the Society. The award is SPNHC’s top recognition, honoring exceptional service to natural history collections, named after a trailblazing conservator whose work shaped the field and the Society’s mission.
 
Sally Shelton is a museum and conservation professional, specializing in the care of natural history, paleontology, geology, and related collections. She graduated from Texas A&M University with a degree in wildlife biology and museum science, then completed an M.A at the Museum of Texas Tech University in Museum Science. She was part of the first group selected for the Bay Foundation's Collections Care Pilot Training Project in natural history. Ms. Shelton also completed a post-graduate certificate at the Sedgwick Museum, University of Cambridge, in geological conservation. 
 
She has worked at Texas Memorial Museum, San Diego Museum of Natural History, National Museum of Natural History (Smithsonian Institution), and the Museum of Geology, South Dakota School of Mines, where she oversaw the construction of a dedicated collections repository. Her expertise in paleontological resource management and Native land cooperative issues was featured in the PBS special Prehistoric Road Trip in 2020.
 
She has served as president of the Society for the Preservation of Natural History Collections , and has been awarded the Dudley Wilkinson Award of Distinction by the Registrars Committee, American Alliance of Museums. She has developed and taught conservation courses for International Academic Projects of London, the US Department of Interior Museum Program, Oglala Lakota College, South Dakota School of Mines, and Black Hills State University.

Ms. Shelton is now Associate Professor of Practice and Associate Chair of Heritage and Museum Sciences at Texas Tech University, where she administers the academic program and teaches preventive conservation and museum documentation courses. Through a grant from the Foundation for Advancement in Conservation, she co-developed and co-leads a program in museum conservation concepts for middle school students at the Lubbock Lake National Historic Landmark. 

 

Tess Drake, 2025 HMS graduate,  accepted a position at Rockwell Museum Corning, New York.

Glenn G. Fernández-Céspedes, 2024 HMS graduate, published Shelters of Necessity: Exploring the Geoheritage of Dugout Architecture in Early Northwest Texas Settlement in the journal Geoheritage based on his thesis research. 

Congratulations to Ipek Buyuk and Camryn Kubicek for bringing home 1st and second place in the 2025  Mountain-Plains Museums Association annual student poster competition.

Rachel Chovan, 2024 HMS graduate, accepted a position at Tennessee State Museum in Nashville.

Josey Jones, HMS graduate, started a new position as the Exhibitions Designer & Collections Manager at SMU’s Bridwell Library.

Kacie Howard, Summer 2024 HMS graduate, just accepted a position as Education Programs Specialist at the National Medal of Honor Museum.

Gabe Holloway, Spring 2024 HMS graduate, accepted a position as collections manager for the 12th Armored Memorial Museum.

Zane Hobson, accepted a position as assistant collection manager for Art at the Museum of Texas Tech University.

Cooper Abney, Fall 2023 HMS graduate, started a new position as Park Guide at Carlsbad Caverns National Park.

Alexis Stephens, Summer 2023 HMS graduate, just accepted a position as Curator at the San Jacinto Museum and Battlefield Association.

Congratulations to Anna Loehrer and Hannah Hill for bringing home 1st and second place in the 2024 Mountain-Plains Museums Association annual student poster competition. 

Rachel Chovan, June 2024, completed her Master's thesis research titled: Ensuring Usefulness and Accessibility in Legacy Collections: Updating the 1932 Saddleback Ruin Collection.

Darcy Phillips, June 2024, completed her Master's thesis research titled: Virtual Reality Exhibits in Museums- Audience Expectations and Experiences.

Roxanne Merritt, 1978 HMS alum, inducted as an honorary member of the 3 special operations regiments.

Glenn G. Fernández-Céspedes, June 2024, accepted a position with Sierra Forensic Consulting, Inc. in Sacramento, California. He will be conducting archaeological monitoring in the greater Sacramento area.

Laura Ridge, June 2024, presented on her internship work at The Chisholm. The presentation was titled: Collections and Chuckwagons: My Internship at the Chisholm. 

Zachary Davis, May 2024, presented on his internship work at the Mabee Regional Heritage Center. The presentation was titled: Doors, Dolls, and Dendro: 6 months of community engagement at the Mabee Regional Heritage Center.

Kacie Howard, May 2024, presented on her internship work at the National Medal of Honor Museum. The presentation was titled: How to Build a Museum While Building Your Career: Interning at the National Medal of Honor Museum.

Deidre Howard, a current HMS graduate student, just accepted a new position as Registrar at the Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum.

Glenn G. Fernández-Céspedes, March 2024, completed his Master's thesis research titled: A Geoheritage Perspective on the Dugouts of Northwest Texas.

Madison Westfall, March 2024, completed her Master's thesis research titled:  Jackets, Pedestals, and Threats of Disassociation: Analysis of Tracking Systems for Unprocessed Materials in Museums.

Alyssa DeWaele, March 2024, completed her Master's thesis research titled: A Cross-Sectional Review of How Museums and Cultural Institutions are Using Immersive Technologies in Mobile Applications.

Madison Westfall, a May 2024 HMS graduate, just accepted her first position as Assistant Collection Manager — Samples at the Lubbock Lake National Historic Landmark.

Brooke Thorson, December 2023 HMS graduate, just accepted her first position as Education and Curatorial Associate at the El Paso Museum of Archaeology.

Congratulations to Zachary Taylor, who just accepted a 2024 internship at the Jimmy Dean Museum in Plainview, Texas.