Matthew Gramling has joined Dalton State College as Director of the Bandy Heritage Center of Northwest Georgia and as the B.J. and Dicksie Bandy Chair in American History.
Gramling, a Northwest Georgia native, comes to Dalton State after serving as the Museum Manager of Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home in Rome, Ga., and brings more than five years of museum operations and archival experience to his role.
“I am truly thankful to Dalton State College for the opportunity to enhance and expand the Bandy Heritage Center’s mission of collecting, preserving and interpreting the material and cultural history of Northwest Georgia’s many communities,” Gramling said. “Increasing visibility and access to these historical resources is one of my top priorities as director.
The Bandy Heritage Center was established to preserve and showcase Northwest Georgia’s history. It serves as a place where historians can meet, conduct research, and collaborate with historical societies throughout North Georgia. It also provides a forum for public outreach programming, including exhibits, lectures, conferences, and seminars for the general public and professional historians.
The center’s collection includes 65,000 photographs, 250,000 documents and 300 objects. Additionally, the center has numerous traveling exhibitions and digital exhibits.
“It is also my goal to create opportunities for students to engage in digital humanities via new applications and software platforms,” Gramling said, “and I look to continue growing the Bandy Heritage Center’s extensive collection, especially from underrepresented communities in Northwest Georgia.”
Gramling holds a Master of Science in Information Sciences from the University of Tennessee, a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from Oglethorpe University.
The Bandy Heritage Center of Northwest Georgia is housed in Dalton State College’s Derrell C. Roberts Library. To learn more about the center, visit www.bandyheritagecenter.org.
