PRESS RELEASE
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: JAIME OLIVER
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*Professor Allen Weinstein, Ninth Archivist of the United States, Joins
Maryland’s iSchool *
(College Park, MD) 1/23/09- Historian Allen Weinstein, most recently
ninth Archivist of the United States, will join the faculty of the
University of Maryland, College of Information Studies – Maryland’s
iSchool – as a visiting professor in February 2009. In announcing
Weinstein’s appointment Dean Jennifer Preece states: “We are honored to
have Professor Allen Weinstein join the iSchool. He will challenge our
students and faculty intellectually and substantially add to our growing
reputation. Reading Allen’s biography is inspiring; he has achieved and
contributed so much as Archivist, leading historian and promoter of
world peace and democracy. Allen will help us to reach out to leading
figures in Washington and beyond.” “The University is privileged and
excited to have Professor Allen Weinstein joining our faculty,” said
U.M. President C. D. Mote, Jr. “Allen’s breadth of experiences and
remarkable vision are great assets to our campus. His scholarship on
democracy provides a special opportunity for our campus community.”
Weinstein’s 44-month tenure as Archivist of the United States brought
increased emphasis on civic education, greater concern for maximizing
access to the National Archives’ vast documentary holdings, and major
progress in preserving electronic records. Several of NARA’s many
notable achievements under his leadership included overhauling the
method by which the Government classifies and declassifies documents so
that sensitive documents are withheld only for as long as necessary,
expanding the Presidential Library System to include the libraries of
Richard Nixon and George W. Bush, and greatly expanding educational and
public outreach programs, and reducing the existing documentary backlog
by over 20%.
Frank Boles, president of the Society of American Archivists, thanked
Weinstein for being a “motivating force” as Archivist and acknowledged
his “contributions to our profession.” He added, “During your tenure -
and as a direct result of your vision, leadership, and diligence - the
National Archives and Records Administration has made significant
progress on a broad array of issues.”
When asked about his many other achievements, Weinstein talks with pride
about his role as founder, President and CEO of the Washington-based
Center for Democracy, a non-profit foundation created to assist
development of law-based democracies (1985-2003). For this and his
contributions to world peace Weinstein received the United Nations Peace
Medal (1986) for “efforts to promote peace, dialogue, and free elections
in several critical parts of the world.” He also received the Council of
Europe’s Silver Medal in 1990 and 1996, presented by its Parliamentary
Assembly, for “outstanding assistance and guidance over many years”.
Other awards and fellowships won by Weinstein include two Senior
Fulbright Lectureships, an American Council of Learned Societies
Fellowship, the Commonwealth Fund Lectureship at the University of
London, and a Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
(Smithsonian) Fellowship.
The best known of Weinstein’s many books is probably the Perjury: The
Hiss-Chambers Case (Knopf; Vintage paperback; Hutchinsons Ltd.; revised
ed. Random House paperback 1997), which received several citations
including an American Book Award nomination. His articles have appeared
in: The American Scholar, The American Historical Review, Esquire, The
Journal of American History, The New York Review of Books, The New York
Times, Newsweek, Time, U.S. News and World Report, The Wall Street
Journal, and The Washington Post. He has also appeared on television
and radio and he is a frequent commentator on CNN, C-SPAN, and other
networks.
No stranger to higher education, Weinstein has also held major
appointments at Georgetown University, Boston University and Smith
College and visiting professor appointments at Brown, Columbia, Florida
International University, and George Washington University.
Read more about Professor Weinstein:
http://ischool.umd.edu/
http://www.archives.gov/about/info/archivist-biography.html (biography)
http://www.archives.gov/press/press-releases/2009/nr09-29.html (NARA
resignation press release)
*About Maryland’s iSchool*
The College of Information Studies, Maryland's iSchool, empowers people,
organizations and society to use information effectively through its
research and undergraduate, graduate and professional programs.
Maryland's iSchool enables students and faculty to create new ways for
people to connect with information that will transform society and is
ideally located in the information capital of the world- the Washington
DC metro region. The iSchool is transforming itself as well, from a
small college with a strong foundation in library and information
studies programs to a fast-growing and groundbreaking center of
expertise that will help people manage the information explosion from
childhood to adulthood.
For more information on Maryland's iSchool, visit www.ischool.umd.edu
<http://www.ischool.umd.edu>
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_____________________________
Jaime Oliver
Communications Coordinator
College of Information Studies
University of Maryland
4110 Hornbake Bldg
301-405-1260
