‘Wheels of Change’ explores automotive entrepreneurs this week – July 2nd

McPHERSON, KAN. – Join McPherson College “Wheels of Change: How the Automobile Shaped Our Lives,” a six-week summer experience that explores the people, innovations, and art of the automotive industry. This week’s session on Thursday, July 2 at noon CDT is titled “Paving the Way for the Automobile – Roads, steam, omni-busses, bicycles, and the entrepreneurs behind them,” with Andrew Beckman, archivist at the Studebaker National Museum in South Bend Indiana.

Beckman has been with the Studebaker National Museum since 1999. He hails from Manitowoc, Wisconsin, and holds a BA in history from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. In 2004, he completed the Modern Archives Institute at the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, D.C. In 2009, he earned his mid-level certificate in Collections Preservation from the Campbell Center for Historic Preservation Studies in Mount Carroll, Illinois. He is the author of “The Studebaker National Museum: Over a Century on Wheels,” and “Studebaker’s Last Dance: The Avanti,” and is a columnist for the Studebaker Drivers Club magazine, Turning Wheels.

In addition to his duties at the Studebaker National Museum, Beckman is a member and past president of the Society of Automotive Historians. He also serves as a commentator for The Henry Ford Museum’s Motor Muster and Old Car Fest, and has guested on NPR’s Science Friday, CNN Money, and WGN radio’s “The Steve and Johnnie Show.” He grew up in a family of Studebaker owners and currently owns a 1941 Studebaker President Skyway Cruising Sedan and a 1964 Studebaker Daytona Hardtop.

Professor Ken Yohn, chair of McPherson College’s Department of History and Politics, serves as host and instructor for the webinar. For more than 20 years, Professor Yohn has taught courses on the social history of the automobile at McPherson College and has led student study trips to Europe and South America.

Each week on Zoom, Wheels Change will focus on fascinating topics from the advent of the automobile to its impact on war, globalization, and design. There is no cost for the series but space is limited and registration is required for each session. For more details about the series or to register go to https://www.mcpherson.edu/autorestoration/wheelsofchange/.

ABOUT McPHERSON COLLEGE AUTOMOTIVE RESTORATION

The McPherson College Automotive Restoration program began in 1976. It has evolved into the only award-winning four-year bachelor’s degree program for automotive restoration technology in the country. The program offers student experience outside of the classroom at some of the most prestigious car events in the United States, like Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, where the program was featured in a spotlight on Fox Business. The college also has a growing alumni base who work in all facets of the car collecting world including Hagerty, Mercedes-Benz Classic Center, Historic Vehicle Association, RM Sotheby’s, in their own shops, at museums, and private collections. Learn more about the program at https://www.mcpherson.edu/programs/auto-restoration/.

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