Our Alumni

The Museum Studies Program at the University of Delaware is one of the oldest programs of its kind in the country. Established 1972, it has awarded over 700 museum studies certificates. Our Museum Studies alumni are successful in their fields and important partners in the program’s success. Museum Studies Program alumni remain loyal by keeping the program abreast of internship and job opportunities (which we share weekly via MuseWeekly); our award winning e-news; offering job and networking advice to graduates; and contributing annually to the Museum Studies Endowment, The Edward Porter Alexander Fund.

  • The Museum Studies Program publishes a biannual newsletter, Museum Studies in Motion.
  • Alumni are encouraged to send us professional and personal updates! Please submit the alumni update form to share your news.
  • Alumni are vital contributors to our Facebook and LinkedIn Group accounts, offering further opportunities to network. 

Alumni Spotlights

Scott Heberling headshot

Scott Heberling

Degree: M.A., History/Museum Studies, 1980

Job Title: President and Senior Historical Archaeologist, Heberling Associates, Inc.

Scott Heberling has over 35 years of experience in project management, historical archaeology, and historical research. He meets the Secretary of the Interior's Professional Qualifications Standards for both historical archaeology and history, and has completed over 150 projects in Pennsylvania and other states. He served three terms on the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission's Historic Preservation Board and three terms on the board of Preservation Pennsylvania.

Heberling's responsibilities include general project management, background research, historic structures studies, site interpretation and analysis, archaeological investigations and report preparation.

Della Hall headshot

Della Hall

Degree: M.A., History/Museum Studies Certificate, 2013

Job Title: Collection Manager, Fine Arts, University of Alaska Museum of the North

Since 2008, Della Hall has gathered experience working with many kinds of museum and archival collections. She has worked in both small and large art museums, history museums, natural history museums, historic houses and other collecting institutions, in nearly every departmental role from education to administration, collections management, digital archives, marketing and exhibition. She holds an M.A. in history and a certificate in museum studies from the University of Delaware and a B.S. in history, technology & society from the Georgia Institute of Technology. Hall began her role as fine arts collection manager in May 2023.

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Peter Klarnet

Degree: M.A., American History/Museum Studies, 1995

Job Title: Vice President, Senior Specialist, Americana, Books & Manuscripts, Christie's

As a specialist in manuscript Americana at Christie’s New York office, Peter Klarnet has worked with a number of major collections, including that of fabled dealer William S. Reese. He also handled the Richard N. Goodwin papers now at the University of Texas at Austin. In 2018 Klarnet brought the Albert Einstein “God letter” to auction and achieved a record $2.89 million. Klarnet is a board of trustees member of The Manuscript Society. He holds a B.A. from Antioch College and an M.A. from the University of Delaware, both in history.

Lily Santoro headshot

Lily Santoro

Degree: Ph.D., American History/Museum Studies, 2011

Job Title: Associate Teaching Professor, University of Missouri–Columbia

Lily Santoro, Ph.D., is an associate teaching professor in the Department of History and the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy, where she teaches courses in early American History and public History. She is the faculty advisor for the Kinder MA program in Atlantic History and Politics and leads the Kinder Public History ASH Team in their work to promote, document, and historicize the U.S. Semiquincentennial.

Santoro is an active public historian with experience as a project archivist, collections assistant, exhibit curator and museum consultant. As Voices & Votes scholar for Missouri Humanities, she collaborates with community partners across the state to create unique exhibitions and activities that highlight local stories of American democracy in conjunction with a Smithsonian traveling exhibit. In partnership with the Bollinger Center for Regional History, she is spearheading the Southeast Missouri History Gateway project, a digital history project that provides training, consultation and a digital platform to under-resourced cultural heritage institutions to digitize archival collections for public access.