Email digest for the Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList) egroup. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Help our Colleague 2. IN MEMORIAM - Prof. Frank G. Matero ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1.From: Aisha Wahab Posted: Saturday December 20, 2025 6:24 AM Subject: Help our Colleague Message: It is almost the end of 2025 and while it is a year where many of us may have already donated, please consider giving one more time this holiday season to this campaign <https://chuffed.org/project/help-saeed-shat-family-evacuate-gaza>. Saeed Shat is our colleague who has been trying to escape Gaza with his wife and children and relocate to Canada. Saeed has been part of a team working to rescue manuscripts from the Great Omari Mosque in Gaza. In addition to his conservation work, he has been studying water treatment systems and has been accepted into a master's program at the University of Alberta in Canada to continue his studies in this area, with the goal to contribute to the rehabilitation of Gaza's water systems. Additionally Saeed has had a talk accepted at next year's AIC-CAC Annual Meeting in Montreal and is the recipient of AIC's inaugural Tier 3 Nation Presenter Support Stipend. This is amazing news and we are so happy for Saeed. While the stipend will cover his trip expenditures to AIC it does not cover the fee on Gazans trying to leave Gaza. Because Israel has closed all the borders preventing anyone from leaving, most can only leave if they have money to pay their way out at the Rafah border which is often $5,000 USD per person at a minimum. Please consider donating to this campaign which has been organized by Conservators with Palestine to help our colleague and his family obtain a safe new life, and be able to present his conservation work in person at next year's conference. Please share this campaign to your friends and families and please donate generously. Wishing everyone a safe and happy new year and holidays for those that celebrate. ------------------------------ Aisha Wahab (she/her) Paper Conservator Stanford Libraries ------------------------------ 2.From: Héctor Berdecía-Hernández Posted: Saturday December 20, 2025 7:12 PM Subject: IN MEMORIAM - Prof. Frank G. Matero Message: Dear colleagues, It is with profound sadness that we share the passing of Professor Frank G. Matero, following a courageous battle with cancer. He was an internationally respected leader in architectural and archaeological conservation, as well as a teacher, mentor, and friend to many in the field. Personally, I owe my path to Graduate studies-and much of my formation as a conservator-to his guidance and generosity. Professor Matero devoted his career to advancing conservation education, research, and practice worldwide. He was the first Architectural Conservator appointed within the U.S. National Park Service, served as an Assistant Professor at Columbia University, and, for 35 years, taught at the Department of Historic Preservation at the University of Pennsylvania, where he was Professor and Chair. At Penn, he also served as an Associate Researcher at the Penn Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, was a member of the Graduate Group in History of Art, and founded Change Over Time, the internationally recognized journal on conservation and the built environment, published by Penn Press, where he served as Editor-in-Chief. For almost a decade, Matero was a Senior Lecturer at the International Centre for the Study of Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property (ICCROM) of the UNESCO in Rome, Italy. As a pioneer along with many other colleagues of his generation, Frank championed interdisciplinary methodologies that integrated historical research with scientific investigation of historic building materials and construction technologies, fundamentally shaping contemporary architectural conservation practice. He founded and directed the Architectural Conservation Laboratory and the Center for Architectural Conservation at Penn, both internationally recognized hubs for applied research that supported projects at sites of exceptional significance-from Taliesin West and the Guggenheim Museum to the Ayyubid Wall in Cairo. He authored several books and more than 100 scholarly publications on conservation history, building technologies, ethics, and professional practice, and lectured extensively across the globe. In recent years, his work focused on climate-related risk and vulnerability of historic materials and sites, and he was completing a major book on cementitious finishes and concrete architecture. Frank was a Professional Member of the American Institute for Conservation (AIC), a member of the Association for Preservation Technology (APT), the International Institute for Conservation (IIC), the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), and numerous other organizations, and advised institutions internationally. From 2022 to 2025, he served on the U.S. Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACHP). Because of Frank-his leadership, the programs and projects he guided, and the students he mentored-we are left with a new generation of professionals ready to continue his foundational work, to advocate for-and help preserve-the buildings and sites that tell our shared history. Matero was an extraordinary professional, educator, and mentor. He embodied generosity, intellectual rigor, and a profound respect for our cultural heritage. His legacy lives on through his scholarship, his projects, and the many professionals he inspired. On behalf of the AIC Architecture Specialty Group Board, my colleagues, and as a proud Penn alumnus, we honor his life, his work, and his enduring impact on our field. May he rest in peace. ------------------------------ Héctor J. Berdecía-Hernández (he/him) Chair Emeritus Architecture Specialty Group (ASG) Director-General/CEO Centro de Conservación y Restauración de Puerto Rico (CENCOR) San Juan, Puerto Rico ------------------------------ You are subscribed to "Global Conservation Forum (ConsDistList)" as [email protected]. To change your subscriptions, go to http://community.culturalheritage.org/preferences?section=Subscriptions. 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