New York, NY March 26, 2011 – Richard Beard, Historian, Joins Fashion Research Institute as Gettysburg Fellow
Fashion Research Institute CEO, Shenlei Winkler, announces that historian Dr. Richard Beard has joined the FRI team as Gettysburg Fellow with the Fashion Research Foundation, a nonprofit affiliate of FRI. Dr. Beard is a historian and administrator who has held senior leadership positions in several of the nation’s most noteworthy history museums, including the Museum of the City of New York, the Atlanta History Center, the New-York Historical Society, and the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum.
His career, characterized by a commitment to vibrant exhibitions and public programming, has included the development of major exhibitions on the American Civil War and Abraham Lincoln. Dr. Beard publishes regularly on historical topics as well as matters related to the museum profession. Recent publications include “The Legacy of the Civil War,” a co-authored essay for the National Park Service’s official Sesquicentennial handbook The Civil War Remembered and “From Civil War to Civil Rights: The Opportunities of the Civil War Sesquicentennial,” a forthcoming article to appear in History News.
Dr. Beard is currently part of the project team developing a national exhibition on freedom and slavery, the volunteer coordinator for the Civil War Sesquicentennial for the American Association for State and Local History.
“I am very excited to be involved in the initial stages of developing what promises to be an incredible on-line resource for any and everyone interested in the Civil War. As more and more Americans turn to the Web for their history, the development of Virtual Gettysburg could not come at a better moment. The upcoming commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War promises to engage millions of Americans with the three-day battle in the small Pennsylvania town of Gettyburg, an event that did much to determine the war’s outcome.” says Beard.
”We are excited about having Dr. Beard join the Fashion Research Team.” says Shenlei Winkler, CEO of the Fashion Research Institute. “We think his wealth of knowledge about the American Civil War and expertise in producing substantive public programming will provide tremendous insights into the Gettysburg Redux project, and his input and guidance will help ensure that the project is developed with historical accuracy.”
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Fashion Research Institute has been leading the effort to push the use of virtual immersive environments (virtual worlds) for the purpose of training, development and education. Gettysburg Redux is a visionary project intended to accurately reproduce the 3-day Battle of Gettysburg in a virtual world for multidisciplinary uses.
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About Fashion Research Institute, Inc.: The Fashion Research Institute is at the forefront of developing innovative design & merchandising solutions for the apparel industry. They research and develop products and systems for the fashion industry that sweepingly address wasteful business and production practices. Shenlei Winkler’s work spans both couture and mass-market design and development for the real life apparel industry. A successful designer, her lifetime sales of her real life apparel designs have now reached more than $70 million USD, with more than 25 million-dollar styles in her portfolio. Her couture work has appeared extensively on stage and movie screen.
