With the sad news that Dr. Allen Weinstein has resigned his post as Archivist of the United States, President-Elect Obama has yet another position to fill. What kind of person should he choose?
Share your views in the latest poll (at the right): What do you think should be the primary area of expertise for the next Archivist of the United States? (Pick only one)
Archives
History
Advocacy/lobbying
Technology
How to manage a government agency
Other (please explain in comments)
I know many of you will want to say “all of the above,” but which do you think is the most important?
With the news so fresh there has been little chance for speculation about a possible replacement, but you might want to consider the two people that Obama’s Transition Office appointed as NARA’s Review Team Leads (info courtesy of the NCH site):
Bruce McConnell is an independent consultant on cybersecurity, privacy, and Web 2.0. From 2000 to 2008, he grew two consulting firms, McConnell International and Government Futures, which work to promote cost-effective use of the private sector by government. Prior to this, he led the International Y2K Cooperation Center under the auspices of the United Nations and World Bank and he served in and led the information policy and technology branch at the Office of Management and Budget.
Gloria Parker is the Director of Business Solutions and Innovation for Civilian Government Business at Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC). Under the Clinton Administration, Ms. Parker became the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s first Chief Information Officer (CIO). Before that, Ms. Parker was Deputy Chief Information Officer at the Department of Education. She previously worked as Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategy for Apptis, Inc. and at IBM Corporation. Parker has received many prestigious awards including the 2000 Presidential Rank Award given for exemplary Government leadership.
Technology people, not historians or archivists. Or is that just a function of what’s needed for the transition?
At any rate, given Obama and his team’s understanding and embrace of technology, I would not be surprised to see him pick someone with a solid foundation of technological understanding, and I for one would welcome such a selection. As for whether that should be the new Archivist’s primary qualification, I tend to think it should be given how much about the future of the National Archives depends on how it deals with electronic records and electronic access. This topic should be fodder for some great discussions, I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
NOTE: If you do not see a sidebar with the poll at the right, click on the words “ArchivesNext” in the upper left, above the lovely blue squiggle. This should reload the page with the sidebar options on the right, including the poll.