ARCA Academic Director Derek Fincham Discusses the Masters Certificate Program in International Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection Studies

Dr. Fincham took this photo of a looter's pit
 and a pottery shard last summer at Cerveteri.

Dr. Derek Fincham, an Assistant Professor of law at South Texas College of Law where he teaches legal writing and research, serves as the Academic Director of ARCA's Master's Certificate Program in International Art Crime and Cultural Heritage Protection Studies.  The application period for the 2012 program in Umbria, Italy, is now open.

ARCA Blog: In your experience, what have been the backgrounds of students in this program over that last three years?

Dr. Fincham: We have enjoyed a terrific and diverse student body in terms of age, nationality and educational backgrounds. We have a number of art history folks and people who have worked in the arts. We have had professionals in the security industry. There tends to be a group of freshly-minted college graduates, but also a number of folks who have had careers and are interested in developing knowledge in a new field or pivoting to a new career opportunity.

ARCA Blog: What do students get out of the program?

Dr. Fincham: The sky really is the limit. The students get out of the experience exactly what they put into the endeavor. It is not a passive learning experience. Students who come to Amelia and invest in the classes and the relationships with the experts they are exposed to in the field have a tremendous opportunity to carve out an expertise. We have had students interested learning more about art and heritage crime generally, but also students interested in pursuing doctoral research. So the more eager and excited folks are to take advantage of the classes, the culture, and Amelia's setting, the better the results they've had. That's just the classes and material though, students also forge terrific relationships with each other and with our visiting faculty. It really is a unique experience. 

Some of our students end up working in the arts, some enter academia, others return to the careers they had before they came to Italy. But all of them leave with a deeper appreciation of heritage protection and a fuller understanding of how and why art is stolen.

ARCA Blog: What is the most pressing issue in art crime today (theft, cultural protection, forgeries, authentication, provenance)?

Dr. Fincham: Budgets are tight all over the world right now, and sadly funds for law enforcement, the arts and heritage protection are diminishing. For an example of that we need only look to the rash of museums selling their art in recent months. So we have decreased funding while the same risks to art and heritage sites are there. One of the biggest themes of the summer program will always be focusing on the overworked and underpaid law enforcement and security personnel. We'll examine and look to ways law and policy can make the job of these hard working folks more manageable.

Readers may also follow Dr. Fincham on his weblog, Illicit Cultural Property.