About Valerie
Valerie R. Marvin is the Director of Education and History at the Michigan State Capitol, a National Historic Landmark. She has curated and cocurated historical exhibits at the Michigan State Capitol, at the Library of Michigan, and for the Historical Society of Greater Lansing; she regularly gives talks on Michigan State Capitol history, and Michigan women’s history at conferences, libraries, historical museums, and for educational organizations; and she leads walking tours in Lansing’s historic neighborhoods and cemeteries for the Historical Society of Greater Lansing. She received the Ingham County Historical Commission Heritage Award in 2016, was named the Historical Society of Michigan History Hero in 2024, and received the best article award in Michigan History Magazine in 2021 and 2022.
Valerie lives with her husband, David Marvin, whom she met working at the Capitol more than two decades ago. They married in 2005, and live in a 1906 home in downtown Lansing. They enjoy traveling together and Valerie is always making David take pictures of her favorite architecture, cemeteries, and public art, as seen on David’s Flickr (which also includes a lot of his other love–dragonflies).
Education
Master of Science in Historic Preservation - Eastern Michigan University - May 2009
Bachelor of Arts in Russian and Eastern European Studies - University of Michigan - April 2005
Awards
2024 - Historical Society of Michigan “History Hero” Award
2023 - Historical Society of Michigan State History Award for New Institution, Michigan State Capitol Heritage Hall
2022 - Downtown Lansing Inc. Design and Public Spaces Award
2022 - Historical Society of Michigan State History Award for Best Article in Michigan History Magazine, “Librarian, Curator, and Leader: The Transformative Harriet Tenney.”
2021 - Historical Society of Michigan State History Award for Best Article in Michigan History Magazine, “A Woman’s Place Is Under the Dome: Fighting for Woman Suffrage in Michigan’s Capitols.”
2016 - Ingham County Historical Commission Heritage Award
2014 - Downtown Lansing Inc. Design and Public Spaces Award
Publications
2025 “From Pseudonyms to the Stage: The Howard Women of Lansing.” Michigan History Magazine, March/April 2025.
2023 “Augusta Sanborn Appleyard.” Michigan History Magazine, September/October 2023.
2023 “Born of Indignation and Hope: The Michigan Female College.” Michigan History Magazine, May/June 2023.
2022 “Librarian, Curator, and Leader: The Transformative Harriet Tenney.” Michigan History Magazine, July/August 2022. Received Historical Society of Michigan State History Award for Best Article in Michigan History Magazine, 2022.
2021 “A Woman’s Place Is Under the Dome: Fighting for Woman Suffrage in Michigan’s Capitols.” Michigan History Magazine, January/February 2021. Received Historical Society of Michigan State History Award for Best Article in Michigan History Magazine, 2021.
2020 “Cora M. Brown.” Michigan History Magazine, July/August 2020.
2020 “Dora Hall Stockman.” Michigan History Magazine, May/June 2020.
2020“William Webb Ferguson: On the Front Lines of Social Change.” Chronicle Magazine, Historical Society of Michigan, Spring 2020.
2017 “A Capitol Idea: Digitizing the Michigan State Capitol’s Architectural Drawings.” TRACE The Archives of Michigan Magazine, Summer 2017.
Exhibits Curated
2024 Art Adorns the Paths of Life, Michigan State Capitol, Lansing, MI
2023 Built to Endure, Michigan State Capitol, Lansing, MI.
2022 Michigan’s Three Capitols,Heritage Hall, Michigan State Capitol, Lansing, MI.
2022 The Transformative Harriet Tenney, Library of Michigan, Lansing, MI.
