Ellen Cunningham-Kruppa has been an active practitioner, educator and consultant in the field of cultural heritage preservation for 35 years. From 1985 to 1987 she was project archivist (supported by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission) at The Johns Hopkins University Peabody Institute. In August 1988 she was hired as the first preservation officer for the University of Texas at Austin General Libraries, and in 1996 she became the first Digital Programs Librarian for the General Libraries.
Ellen was the founding director of the William and Margaret Kilgarlin Center for Preservation of the Cultural Record, a position she held from 2005-09 in the University of Texas at Austin School of Information. During her nine-year tenure in the School of Information, 2000-09, she taught courses in digitization and preservation management, advised and mentored students pursuing Certificates of Advanced Study in preservation administration and conservation, served on doctoral committees, and spearheaded collaborative educational initiatives. Between 1989 and 2009 she managed federal, state and private grants and contracts totaling $6 million for collections preservation, faculty and student support, and educational symposia and projects. She served as president of the Association of North American Graduate Programs in Conservation from 2005 through 2009. Ellen received an MLIS from the University of Texas at Austin, holds an Endorsement of Specialization in Administration of Preservation Programs for Libraries and Archives from Columbia University’s School of Library Service, and a PhD in American Studies from the University of Texas at Austin. Her book, Mooring a Field: Paul N. Banks and the Education of Library and Archives Conservators (2019) is available from The Legacy Press: http://www.thelegacypress.com/kruppa-conservation-education.html.
In 2016, Ellen was awarded the American Library Association’s Paul Banks and Carolyn Harris Award in Preservation for her contributions to educating conservation professionals, and in 2022 she received the Publication Award from the American Institute for Conservation for Mooring a Field.