Paul Springer, Jr is a graduate student in the Public History program at MTSU. Paul graduated with a bachelor’s in history from Fisk University. While at Fisk, Paul became a recipient of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship (MMUF) in 2021. Paul was a member of the W.E.B Du Bois honors program, the Phi Eta Sigma honors society, and the National Association for African American  Honors Program. In his senior year, he was elected the 2022 Theodore S. Currier scholar, the highest honor given to a student in the history department .

Paul enrolled in the Public History graduate program at Middle Tennessee State University (MTSU) in 2022. From 2022-2024, Paul served as a graduate research assistant for the Center for Historic Preservation (CHP).  Paul’s completed his thesis, documenting the career of librarian pioneer Jessie Carney Smith in 2024.  At the CHP, Paul worked on the West Gaines school project. His work for the center involved writing a community history, as well as, preparing a preservation  field report.  Paul volunteered and worked in the John Hope & Aurelia E. Franklin Library for 4 years. As an employee, he worked as an assistant  for technical services. Paul has held internships with the HBCU Library Alliance, the Leadership Alliance National Symposium, and the State Black Archive and Museum Research Center at Alabama A&M. Paul holds memberships with the American Library Association (ALA) and the National Council for Public History (NCPH). Paul was recently selected as a Robert F. Smith Applied Public History Fellow, and will start his fellowship in September of 2024.