CofC Presents Joseph McGill With Simons Medal of Excellence

The College of Charleston School of the Arts will present Joseph McGill, founder of the Slave Dwelling Project and co-author of the book, Sleeping with the Ancestors, with the Albert Simons Medal of Excellence during a ceremony on Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024 at 5:30 p.m. in the Simons Center Recital Hall.

At the ceremony, McGill will present a lecture about his Slave Dwelling Project. He will share how arranging for people to sleep in extant slave dwellings has brought much-needed attention to these often-neglected structures and offers perspective about the lives of enslaved people.

The Albert Simons Medal of Excellence honors former faculty member Albert Simons (1890-1980), whose career as an architect and preservationist in Charleston spanned 60 years and who spearheaded the founding of the School of the Arts at the College. The medal recognizes individuals who have excelled in one or more of the areas in which Simons excelled, including civic design, architectural design, historic preservation and urban planning. This year’s award includes a $10,000 prize generously provided by Albert and Theodora Simons III.

The Simons Medal is awarded annually by the School of the Arts’ Historic Preservation and Community Planning Program. Prior Simons Medal recipients include Marian and Greg Werkheiser of Cultural Heritage Partners, Adele Chatfield-Taylor, Peter Pennoyer, Robert A.M. Stern, His Royal Highness King Charles III, Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley, Richard Hampton Jenrette, Thomas Gordon Smith, John D. Milner, Andres Duany, Elizabeth Plater–Zyberk, Martha Zierden and Allan Greenberg.