L. Clark, Editor | Costume Society of America
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021
Sandra Staebell is the Registrar/Collections Curator at the Kentucky Museum at Western Kentucky University. Her love of history led her to study Public History and Museum Studies in school, with a B.A. in History from the University of Northern Iowa and an M.A. in Museum Science from Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX. From there she moved to the Kentucky Museum in 1988 and has been there ever since.
She sees the textiles and costume collection of the museum as one of its biggest strengths, pointing out that the staff has been working directly with the University, specifically what was then called the Home Economics department, since the early 1980s. Today this partnership continues to be an integral part of operations at the museum. Staebell is currently working directly with an honors class to create an exhibit about 1960s Mod Style. Garments from the collection are also made available for instructors to use in class while the faculty of what is now the Interior Design and Fashion Merchandising Program helps curate and research costume exhibits.