Leaders
Q&A with Dr. Tiffany Momon
As just the third director of the MTSU Center for Historic Preservation, Dr. Tiffany Momon began her new position on July 1, 2026. We asked her to share some of her first impressions and some insights into her development as a public historian.
What has your first month at the CHP been like?
My first month at the CHP has been full in the best way. I have spent time getting to know my colleagues and learning the rhythms of our day-to-day work. What I’ve enjoyed the most about this time is being able to go behind the scenes and learn more about what we offer to the public, who our constituents are, and thinking about how we can keep doing this work at our best.
How does the CHP's history of community engagement match your view of public history?
The CHP’s history of community engagement matches my view of public history almost exactly, that the work belongs to the communities it serves and that our job is to meet them where they are rather than arrive with answers. We don’t just study communities or present history to them, we build the work alongside them. I learned that here, as a former CHP graduate assistant, and I’ve never forgotten it. Those lessons have informed my entire career since, and it’s a privilege to bring them back to the place where I first learned them.
What are you most excited about in your new position?
There is a lot to be excited about. I’m looking forward to fieldwork, traveling across the state, meeting new people, etc., but if I had to choose what I’m truly most excited about, it’s everything that happens behind the scenes. What thrills me most is learning about my colleagues’ research interests and finding ways to connect those interests to our work and then figuring out how we take those connections to the next level. We already offer so many great programs, so I’ve been thinking about how we broaden our outreach and reintroduce the public to what we do, how we bring students into that work, and how we do all of this while staying true to our mission and goals. Fun thoughts.
How has your scholarship on material culture influenced you as a public historian?
My scholarship on material culture has shaped me profoundly as a public historian because of how it changed the way I understand people and places. Through my own research on Black craftspeople and the architecture and decorative arts they made, I’ve developed a material culture practice that centers the maker, a real departure from the connoisseurship approach. For me, it’s all about people and what the objects they created meant in their personal lives. That’s what drives me at the CHP. I’m attuned to the community members and students we serve, and how they need us to assist them in meeting their goals; I’m just as attuned to the historical people we research, and to telling their stories accurately.
What experiences have best prepared you for a leadership role?
One of the experiences that best prepared me for a leadership role was serving as the assistant director of the Roberson Project on Slavery, Race, and Reconciliation at Sewanee: The University of the South. It stretched me beyond routine management. It was a role that often called for creative approaches to public history issues tied to the university’s own story. It also meant working hand in hand with university administration to address those issues, raising grant funds, bringing in partners, and collaborating with the local community to drive public history projects. Much of the real work lived in the space between those groups, serving an institution while staying accountable to the communities whose histories that institution is connected to, and finding ways forward that honored both. That’s where I learned the importance of staying true to the communities you serve. It’s also the experience I’ll draw on the most going forward at the CHP because it was a good lesson in understanding balance.
What classes will you be teaching in 2026-27?
I'll be teaching the Essentials of Historic Preservation and Cultural Resource Management course, along with the accompanying seminar in the spring.
Welcome, Dr. Momon!
