A New Era Begins at the National Archives

Greetings. I am honored to write this introductory column as the 11th Archivist of the United States. The road was longer than I anticipated to reach this point, but I am glad to report that I have hit the ground running.

I am a political scientist by profession, and I love my discipline. When I was a freshman in college, I decided I wanted to become a political scientist, and I never once looked back. I taught for several years at George Mason University before I took a year off to work on Capitol Hill as an American Political Science Association congressional fellow. Although I never returned to academia full time after that, I did teach at Georgetown for over 10 years as an adjunct professor in the Government Department and greatly enjoyed it.

I had a long tenure at the Library of Congress after my time on Capitol Hill. I served for almost eight years at the Congressional Research Service (CRS), with my last position as the Deputy Director of the 600-person staff. Then I worked for more than four years in various senior executive roles in the main Library, including time supervising public programming, the National Library for the Blind and Print Disabled, FEDLINK, visitor services, exhibits, internships and fellowships, and the National Book Festival. The Library of Congress (LOC) is an awesome institution, and I am proud to call myself an LOC alumni.

At my most recent position as Senior Vice President of the White House Historical Association, I had the opportunity to lead the educational department of the organization, including the talented historian team. Particularly during the pandemic, I was able to engage in research and writing, which I enjoyed immensely. This also enabled me to use the resources of the National Archives, including the Presidential Libraries, on a regular basis.

For the next several months, I will be in “learning and listening” mode as the Archivist. As you know, NARA is a complex agency, with many disparate and important functions, programs, and responsibilities. It’s important for me to have time to understand the operations and resulting challenges so I can make sound decisions moving forward about the effectiveness of the agency. I will be visiting as many NARA facilities across the United States as possible to meet with staff and hear their concerns.

If I had to summarize the strategic focus of my tenure as Archivist, I would use the word “access.” There are several critical populations dependent on NARA for access, such as veterans and researchers. As the Archivist, I need to understand the specific needs of these customers to make sure we are doing our best to serve them.

I am likewise committed to making sure our records are available to all Americans. I firmly believe that every citizen should feel connected to the National Archives and the records in our custody. As a political scientist, I am particularly concerned about recent civics and American history scores, which demonstrate a worrying decline. I will be looking for innovative ideas from SAA and other external groups to determine how NARA can increase its presence as the most relevant “go-to” source for teachers and students. 

I look forward to working with you for years to come, and I wholeheartedly appreciate your continued support during this exciting journey.