The Historic Preservation Program records focuses on the inner workings of the program including outreach programs and projects, course instruction and final projects by program alumni. Formally established in 1979, some of the earliest program files can be found in the professional papers of Marshall McLennan and Andrew Nazarro the two faculty members who helped teach those first courses. This collection is one of the best representations of an experiential learning graduate program on the campus of Eastern Michigan University.

The collection documents the administration and history of the program as it was first offered in 1980 as a 36 credit-hour Master of Science degree program with Marshall McLennan as its program director. Materials in the collection are organized into four series: Administration and History; Civic Engagement; Course Instruction and Audio/Visual Materials.

Included in the Administration and History series are materials related to enrollment, recruitment, program review and restructuring, partnerships and funding opportunities. Of particular note are the files related to Anniversary Celebrations, Publicity and Outreach, Research Materials and Publications, and Memorabilia. The sub-series Faculty and Lecturers includes files on tenure track faculty and part-time lecturers (adjunct faculty) who have taught in the program. more compelete faculty files related to teaching, service and scholarship are not included in the collection, but have been separated into their own collections, in particular this includes the professional files of Marshall McLennan, Andrew Nazarro, Norm Tyler and Ted Ligibel.

The Civic Engagement series includes materials related to community projects mostly related to community surveys. Some of these community surveys were done within the context of a course assignment and when possible the course number has been listed. This series is a natural compliment to the Course Instruction series which has been primarily organized by course number. e.g. GEO 530 - Introduction to Historic Preservation. Included in this series is the sub-series Final Projects. To complete the program all students must complete an individual preservation project which has ranged from completing a Historic American Building Survey (HABS) or a National Register Nomination to topical papers or case studies. A kin to a Master's thesis these final projects have been arranged by title.

The Audio/Visual Materials series is organized by format and includes photographs from field school, teaching slides and films, and some taped interviews.

Given that most of the work completed by student, adjunct faculty and tenure track faculty in the program is original research, much of what is in the collection is not only important to understanding the Historic Preservation program at Eastern Michigan University but also the Preservation efforts in the state of Michigan.