{"id":34432,"date":"2014-11-24T14:45:55","date_gmt":"2014-11-24T18:45:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=34432"},"modified":"2022-09-26T11:54:20","modified_gmt":"2022-09-26T15:54:20","slug":"family-history","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2014\/11\/24\/family-history\/","title":{"rendered":"Family history"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"John<\/a>

John Luchin Jr., left, and John Luchin III work together at the National Museum of the United States Air Force and as adjunct instructors in Wright State’s Public History program.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI want to be just like my dad!\u201d<\/p>\n

This sentiment echoes in the memories of many men, coming from a distant past when they were first asked what they want to be when they grow up. Our father\u2019s footsteps once seemed huge and appealing \u2014 almost impossible to fill. But as life takes its twists and turns, and new interests arise, the paths of a father and son often fork in different directions.<\/p>\n

This is a story of a father and son who, against these odds, wound up walking side by side, carving out a unique path together at Wright State University. Both John Luchin Jr. and his son, John Luchin III, are adjunct instructors in the Public History program<\/a> \u2014 a family first for Wright State.<\/p>\n

Both father and son came to love public history in their own way, but it wasn\u2019t always that way. Luchin Jr. had an interest in history from an early age, his son, Luchin III, took a while to come around.<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up, I can remember going on a lot of family vacations to museums across the country,\u201d said Luchin III. \u201cMy dad would drag us to places like the Smithsonian and Williamsburg, Virginia \u2014 anything related to public history.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cDid I enjoy the trips? No, not at all. I was more interested in art,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Luchin III said a lot of his childhood was spent at antique shows where his father and grandfather sold old relics and antiques. Eventually, Luchin III joined them and sold baseball cards \u2014 only because he liked the design and artwork on the cards.<\/p>\n

His passion for history was sparked later in life, and it came from a little help from his dad.<\/p>\n

Luchin Jr., who has been obsessed with museums and history for his entire life, was down on his luck a number of years ago when the paper mill that had employed him for 27 years closed its doors. Suddenly, he was faced with a crossroads and had to find another career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey offered me training for whatever career path I wanted,\u201d said Luchin Jr. \u201cI thought, \u2018Well, I always wanted to work in a museum,\u2019 and that\u2019s exactly what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2004, he applied to Wright State\u2019s Department of History<\/a> for his M.A. in public history and was soon offered a job at the National Museum of the United States Air Force.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt the time I knew nothing about airplanes or the Air Force, but it was a job at a museum,\u201d said Luchin Jr. \u201cI really couldn\u2019t have been happier, and you know, I\u2019ve been there ever since.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"John<\/a>

John Luchin Jr., pictured, teaches museum administration and collections, while John Luchin III teaches exhibit design technology.<\/p><\/div>\n

It was at this point the father and son\u2019s paths would converge.<\/p>\n

After Luchin III graduated from the Columbus College of Art and Design in 2003, he needed to devise a plan to pay off his student loans. He had a chance to get an internship at the National Museum of the United States Air Force to work alongside his father, but he needed to be in school to obtain the internship.<\/p>\n

So, just like his father, he enrolled at Wright State in 2005 in the humanities master\u2019s program. As he took more and more public history courses, Luchin III found his niche. Once he graduated, he was hired full-time at the museum.<\/p>\n

A few short years later, both the father and son returned to Wright State \u2014 this time to teach in the College of Liberal Arts<\/a>. Luchin III was hired as an adjunct instructor to teach exhibit design technology in 2011, and his father was hired in 2013 to teach museum administration and collections.<\/p>\n

Though the apple did not fall far from the tree, Luchin III manages his class quite differently than his father. He said he likes his classroom to be regimented and organized.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m a lot more strict,\u201d Luchin III said. \u201cStudents that take our classes affectionately say I\u2019m the bad cop and my father\u2019s the good cop.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of technology involved in my class, so usually I have my students following along on the computer, and I don\u2019t like them to gab with one another while they\u2019re supposed to work independently,\u201d he said. \u201cBut the way we use technology keeps this course interesting. As far as exhibit design technologies go, I think the class itself will evolve along with technology. It already has in the three times I\u2019ve taught it.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for Luchin Jr., his classroom is more laid back \u2014 he likes to keep it old school.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy classes are more lecture-oriented and interactive. I\u2019m always trying to get my students\u2019 opinions and feedback,\u201d he said. \u201cMy son\u2019s all about bringing technology into the classroom \u2014 I keep it traditional.\u201d<\/p>\n

While both Luchins operate their classes differently, they have the same goal in mind: to best prepare their students for success.<\/p>\n

\u201cI want my students to walk away with a good foundation in exhibit design so that no matter what job they get in a museum, they understand the fundamentals of exhibit design,\u201d said Luchin III. \u201cThey need to think about it from all different directions \u2014 not just as a curator or an archivist \u2014 and that they are able to put together a cohesive and successful exhibit.\u201d<\/p>\n

Luchin Jr. added, \u201cI want my students to walk away with the basic knowledge of how a museum operates and how to set one\u2019s own moral compass when entering into the field. I want them to walk into their museum job with the confidence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both father and son believe firmly in the benefits of the Public History Plan for M.A. students.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe reason I love this school is because there\u2019s such a focus on making sure students are employable,\u201d said Luchin III. \u201cAnd I really appreciate the fact that many public history instructors actually worked the jobs they prepare their students for. Wright State changed everything for me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wright State is engaged in a $150 million fundraising campaign<\/a> that promises to further elevate the university\u2019s prominence by expanding scholarships, attracting more top-flight faculty and supporting construction of state-of-the-art facilities. Led by Academy Award-winning actor Tom Hanks and Amanda Wright Lane, great grandniece of university namesakes Wilbur and Orville Wright, the campaign has raised more than $107 million so far.<\/p>\n

Luchin Jr. said he and his son work closely together \u2014 both at the National Museum of the United States Air Force and in planning lessons for their classes. Together, they\u2019re a well-oiled public history machine showing the Dayton community the importance of embracing historic roots.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you put us together at work, we can collaborate very effectively,\u201d said his son. \u201cWe have the same kind of philosophy when it comes to museum work and studies, but if you told us to remodel a kitchen together, we might murder each other \u2014 out of love, of course.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Father and son work together at the National Museum of the United States Air Force and in Wright State’s Public History program. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":34436,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[722,733,4299,2023,2060,725,4863,747,715],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34432","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academics","category-alumni","category-alumni-profile","category-faculty","category-graduate","category-home-news-sidebar","category-humanities-and-cultural-studies","category-liberal-arts","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34432"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34432\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":129621,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34432\/revisions\/129621"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/34436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}