MTSU Mondays: Public history student helps reclaim century of records, jazz series to feature saxophonist

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MTSU public history student helps reclaim century of records

A candidate in Middle Tennessee State University’s Public History Ph.D. program, Michael McCormick has taken his passion for researching his family origins to a career of multiple, major genealogy projects and most recently an internship that helped release over 100 years of vital records in the state of Maryland.

McCormick worked with nonprofit Reclaim the Records — a group of advocates from the genealogy field and beyond working to identify important genealogical record sets that are not online or easily accessible to the public — to make an estimated 5 million records such as birth, marriage and death certificates free and accessible to the public, one of the organization’s largest acquisitions to date, according to its website.

“There are legal and health reasons why a person should have rights to research vital records and family tree data, to be able to build their history,” McCormick said. “(Releasing records) makes researching multiple individuals and families for broader projects in families, or history topics, much more doable.”

McCormick’s yearlong placement fulfilled the practical internship requirement of the doctoral program.

“Just being required to do a residency at all put me in a position where something I was already passionate about, but never felt I could justify enough time and resources toward, was now able to become a project that I could do in fulfillment of one of my academic requirements,” said the Idaville, Pennsylvania, native. “(It) put me in a position to help me advance my interests and career by getting myself out there more and interacting with organizations in the genealogical space that are important to me.”

Kelly Kolar, associate history professor and director of archival management in the graduate Public History program, said McCormick’s success has been great for the program.

“I was delighted to see his work celebrated in The Washington Post, and I’m proud of his work to make public records more accessible,” Kolar said. “I am excited about the dissertation Michael will produce and how his scholarship and work will contribute to the field.”

McCormick had already put years into building his experience through a genealogical certification, working at genealogical research firms, working as an adjunct professor and more when he decided on MTSU to pursue his doctorate in history studies after researching history programs across the country.

Kolar said the yearlong residency requirement highlights the program’s value of both theory and hands-on experience.

“The residency aspect of the curriculum allows the student to apply scholarship and theory to professional practice, distinguishing it from a traditional history Ph.D.,” Kolar said. “Fieldwork is also important to the degree because it trains students to become practicing public historians.”

Kolar said they recruit a diverse group of Ph.D. candidates, like McCormick, because history is an interdisciplinary field. MTSU’s nationally recognized history faculty also have backgrounds in everything from archeology, folklore and more, and a recent program graduate, Brian Odom, now works as the chief historian for NASA.

“History is about working with the public, so we need people of different backgrounds to serve our communities best,” Kolar said.

Learn more about the Ph.D. in Public History program at https://www.mtsu.edu/programs/public-history-phd.

MTSU’s Jazz Artist Series to feature saxophonist Miguel Alvarado Feb. 1

MTSU alumnus and adjunct jazz professor Miguel Alvarado will showcase his impressive saxophone skills with members of MTSU Combo 1 on Feb. 1 in the second concert of MTSU’s School of Music’s Jazz Artist Series.

The concert, which will feature original compositions and arrangements by Alvarado, begins at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 1, in the Hinton Music Hall of the Wright Music Building, 1439 Faulkinberry Drive on the MTSU campus.

“The concert will showcase the dynamic playing of one of Nashville’s best tenor saxophonists,” said Jamey Simmons, director of MTSU Jazz Studies.

The program will also feature members of the top student/graduate combo in the jazz area, including Riley Trauscht, alto saxophone; Zicky Hart, tenor saxophone; Daniel Kuk, piano; Baily Johnstone, bass; and Miles Damaso, drums; and a guest appearance by faculty jazz saxophonist Don Aliquo.

Tickets are $10 for the public and free for MTSU students, faculty, and staff. Discounts for area band students and educators are also available. Tickets will be available in the lobby of the Wright Music building before the concert.

A native of Tampa, Florida, Alvarado embarked on his professional music journey at 13, initiating his performance career in the Tampa Bay area with various local R&B, Latin, and rock groups. Alvarado also graduated from the University of North Florida and "studied under the guidance of jazz legend Bunky Green, Kevin Bales, Ricky Ravelo, John Ricci, and many others."

In 2020, Alvarado was honored with the Nashville Industry Music Awards Jazz Performance Award, coinciding with the release of his critically acclaimed album "Idile" on Ear Up Records, an international jazz label founded by the world-famous saxophonist and philanthropist Jeff Coffin.

Since 2007, Alvarado has been dedicated to teaching music in the classroom and currently teaches in the Jazz Department at MTSU.

MTSU Mondays content is provided by submissions from MTSU News and Media Relations.

This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: MTSU Mondays: Public history student helps reclaim century of records, jazz series to feature saxophonist