Dr. Vincent Michael (Chair)

Director, Historic Preservation Program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago

A professional preservationist since 1983, Vincent worked on the creation and interpretation of the Illinois & Michigan Canal National Heritage Corridor as a planner and advocate for Landmarks Illinois for eight years. He received his B.A. and M.A. from the University of Chicago and received a Trustee’s Award from the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts to complete his doctorate in architectural history at the University of Illinois at Chicago. 

Vince is a Trustee of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, the nation’s premier private preservation organization, Chair Emeritus of the National Council for Preservation Education, and President of the Site Council for the Gaylord Building, a National Trust property. He is Secretary and Issues Committee Chair of Landmarks Illinois, the leading private preservation organization in the state and has served on the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council and the Oak Park Historic Preservation Commission. For the last six years he has worked to preserve the Weishan Heritage Valley in Yunnan, China with the Center for US-China Arts Exchange at Columbia University, frequently bringing student study groups to the Southern Silk Road city. He has lectured on historic preservation, architecture, geography, art and history throughout the United States, in Europe and Asia.  His writings include two videos on Chicago architecture, several Michelin Travel Publications, articles in Design Issues, Future Anterior, Traditional Building, forum journal and The Encyclopedia of Chicago. Vincent’s blog, Time Tells has been cited as noteworthy by traditional media.