MDAH Historic Preservation Division

The new Community Heritage Preservation Grants awards were announced today!

Nearly $3M in Preservation Grants Awarded | Mississippi Department of Archives & History At a special meeting on January 22, the Board of Trustees of the Mississippi Department of Archives and History awarded nearly $3 million on behalf of the Community Heritage Preservation Grant program

On February 18, Mississippi lost a noted architectural historian and preservation advocate with the death of Dr. Michael Fazio. Born in Mobile, Alabama, Dr. Fazio grew up in Birmingham. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University, a Master of Architecture Degree from The Ohio State University, and a Ph.D. in the History of Architecture and Urban Development from Cornell University. His professional accomplishments were many. He co-wrote the popular survey Buildings Across Time: An Introduction to World Architecture, published in 2003, and was co-author of The Domestic Architecture of Benjamin Henry Latrobe, which won the prestigious Alice Davis Hitchcock Book Award from the Society of Architectural Historians in 2008. Most recently, he completed work on Buildings in Mississippi, coauthored with MDAH Chief Architectural Historian Jennifer Baughn, and scheduled for publication later this year. In addition to his published work, Dr. Fazio was a founding professor of the School of Architecture at Mississippi State University, where he was known as a challenging but passionate teacher. Although he retired from Mississippi State in 2005, he continued to make significant contributions to the study of architecture as an Emeritus Professor. He also faithfully served on the Mississippi National Register Review Board from 1979 until his death and was instrumental in the City of Starkville's passage of a historic preservation ordinance, chairing the historic preservation commission until illness required him to step down.

A Celebration of Life service will be held Saturday, February 29, at the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Starkville at 11:00 a.m. Memorial contributions may be made to The Nature Conservancy.