M.L.S, M.A., M.A.
Dan Harrison is a historian and librarian at Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Michigan, and a consulting maritime archaeologist for the Detroit Historical Society and Cranbrook Institute of Science.
In over thirty years of diving and sailing the Great Lakes, Dan has developed a love of maritime history and lore. Dan is the first North American to earn a NAS II certification and was awarded the NAS “Grand Traverse Prize” in 2009 for his survey of a War of 1812 site. He is presently pursuing his doctorate in Anthropology at Wayne State University.
Education
- 1972: B.A., University of Michigan (English)
- 1975: M.L.S., University of Michigan (Library Science)
- 1987: M.A., OaklandUniversity (History)
- 2012: M.A., Wayne State University (Anthropology)
- 2017: Ph.D., Wayne State University (Anthropology, anticipated)
Teaching Credentials:
1976 – present: Bibliographic Instruction (Texas A&M University; Oakland University; Henry Ford Community College)
2008: NAS Tutor Training, Traverse City, Michigan
2010, 2011: NAS-III “Social History of Ships,” NASInternationalFieldSchool
2012: NAS-III “Documentary Research,” NAS International Field School
Additional Training
NAS Level I and II and Tutor certifications
PADI AOW, NAUI Rescue Diver
Publications
2009 Corduroy Road Remnant near Brownstown, Michigan (NAS-II survey; Grand Traverse Award)
2012 “Let it be Well Done:” Community Archaeology on Michigan’s First Road (MA Essay).
2012 “‘They had won their battle, too:’ an Odawa narrative from the War of
1812.” In Border Crossings: the Detroit River region in the War of 1812.
Detroit Historical Society (recipient of Historical Society of Michigan’s
State History Award, Publications: Private Printing category).
2015 “Frontier Arms Race: Historical and Archaeological Analysis of an Assemblage of 18th-century Cannon recovered from the Detroit River and Lake Erie” Historical Archaeology (forthcoming).
Exhibitions
2012 “The Case of the Corroded Cannon,” Cranbrook Institute of Science
(conservation of 18th-century British cannon from Detroit River)
Awards, Honors
2006 REI “Steward of the Environment” ($20,000 award)
2009 Nautical Archaeology Society “Grand Traverse Prize” for excellence in survey work on Hull’s Road corduroy remnant.
2012 Historical Society of Michigan, State History Award (Preservation & Conservation category), for Hull’s Road corduroy remnant.
2013 Faculty Lectureship award, Henry Ford Community College.
2013 Historical Society of Michigan, State History Award (Publications: Private Printing category) for contribution to Border Crossings.
2014 Michigan Mountain Biking Hall of Fame (Trail Design & Construction).
Research Interests
Underwater and maritime archaeology of the Great Lakes region; Management and interpretation of submerged cultural resources; Maritime heritage; Native American studies; Recreational land use planning.