Bio
DAVID R. MERTZ retired in 2023 as the director of the Building Preservation Technology Program at Belmont Technical College in St. Clairsville, OH., a post he has held since the program's inception in 1989. The Belmont Program is seen as a national model for trades-based technical education in historic preservation and has been copied across the country. Mr. Mertz has been an active participant in the development of historic preservation on a local, state and national level. He has served four years as Chair of the National Council for Preservation Education, the consortium of colleges and universities that offer undergraduate and graduate programs in historic preservation, and four years as Chair Emeritus. He served on the advisory board of the Preservation Leadership Institute of the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the editorial board of Preservation Forum, the nation’s scholarly journal on Historic Preservation and has authored numerous articles in national publications relating to trades education. He has served as a board member and vice-president in both Heritage Ohio and the Ohio Preservation Alliance, Ohio’s two state-wide preservation non-profits. He is a graduate of Kansas State University with a bachelors and masters degree in architecture and a certificate in Regional & Community Planning. He lectures frequently on technical aspects of historic preservation and community revitalization. He currently is a member of Heritage Ohio’s Preservation Assessment Team lecturing throughout the State of Ohio on best practices for maintaining historic structures. Mertz currently serves on the Kent Design and Preservation Board. He and his wife, Roberta reside in Kent, Ohio with their dog, Cinnamon and cat, Fuzzy.
