The award, which recognizes the accomplishments and contribution of conservation professionals who, through substantial efforts, have advanced the field of conservation and furthered the cause of conservation through public outreach and advocacy, was presented at the 36th annual meeting of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC) of Historic & Artistic Works in April in Denver.
“It was a great honor to be selected for this award from AIC, and I was thrilled to receive it,” Norris, who will become vice provost for graduate and professional education on July 1, said. “It was a terrific event for me. My colleagues in the field and former students were in the audience, and much to my amazement, my parents flew to Denver for the occasion and totally surprised me.
“The award is given once a year, and it is a tribute to the strength of our art conservation program that two other UD faculty members have received the award in the past five years-Joyce Hill Stoner [UD professor of art conservation] and Richard Wolbers [associate professor of art conservation],” Norris said.
Norris was nominated by Stoner, who wrote, “It is hard to imagine anyone doing more for the profession than Debbie has.” Stoner pointed out that Norris is the only person to have served as head of both AIC and National Institute for Conservation/Heritage Preservation and that she helped establish national and international conservation initiatives with the Mellon Foundation. “She is probably our national leader in both advocating and carrying out public outreach,” Stoner wrote.
In addition, Stoner pointed out, Norris's former students comprise the majority--approximately 70 percent--of professional photograph conservators in America and her course materials have been disseminated widely.
Former students also think highly of Norris. Christopher Foster of the Detroit Institute of Arts wrote, “The fact that I can still recall many of her lectures [15 years later] is a testament to her ability to convey complex ideas in a easily understandable and retainable manner....I must credit her in part for my good fortune in being accepted for a post-graduate internship at the Harvard University Art Museums.”
Nancy Reinhold of the Metropolitan Museum of Art wrote that the “experience that I gained studying with Debbie at UD was critical to my obtaining my current position....Conservation is an unwieldy subject that Debbie organizes and relates effectively and she shares her comprehensive knowledge freely.”
Penley Knipe of the Straus Center for Conservation, Harvard University Art Museums, called Norris an “amazing teacher who is generally considered to be one of the top photograph conservators and conservation professors in the world.”
A UD graduate with a master's degree from the Winterthur/UD Program in Art Conservation, Norris was inducted into the Alumni Wall of Fame in 2002. She has consulted worldwide on photograph conservation and is chairman of the board at the Conservation Center for Art and Historic Artifacts.
Article by Sue Moncure
Photo by Brett Rodgers, American Institute for Conservation of Historic & Artistic Works