Born: May 6, 1943, Aurora, MO.

Education: MA - History, University of Missouri, Columbia, 1967; and AB - Major: History; Minor: Political Science/Philosophy, Southwest Missouri State University, Springfield, 1965.

Public Service: US Peace Corps Volunteer - Thailand, Malaria Eradication Program, 1967-68. Served as assistant zone chief. Challenge: implementing a Western health program in an Eastern cultural environment. Visited field offices to ensure that program requirements were being met and to encourage the staff in their work and impress upon them its importance.

Military: US Army, 1968-69. Served in Viet-Nam as a Thai interpreter (E-5) with units of the Royal Thai Army Volunteer Force. Challenge: maintaining a good working relationship and encouraging understanding between Thai and American servicemen. Acted as a coordinator, problem-solver, and ambassador of good will. Compiled annual unit history for the command to which assigned. Awarded US Army Commendation Medal and presented Certificate of Appreciation from the Royal Thai Army.

Personal Qualities and Skills: Capable, reliable, and versatile: one who can do the day’s work. Ability to work on my own, with minimal assistance and supervision; to function in a variety of work situations and environments; to analysis complex problems and arrive at solutions; to communicate effectively orally and in writing; to carry out or oversee long-term, complex projects; and to coordinate or supervise daily work activities.

Special Knowledge:

History: 20th Century United States, with the emphasis on the 1920s. Special interests: 1) Calvin Coolidge and his Presidency and the National Prohibition Experiment. My work on Coolidge has led to my election as a Trustee of the Calvin Coolidge Memorial Foundation of Plymouth Notch, VT, in which I play an active role since 1972. I represented the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) in October 1995 and again in July 1998 at Coolidge Conferences held, respectively, at the Library of Congress and the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. I have also lectured on Coolidge at the National Archives, as well as written and participate in panels on him and his Presidency. 2) Presidential inaugurations, focusing on the political, social, and festive events surrounding them, their place and importance in our cultural and political history, and how they are organized and staged. I am one of three or four individuals considered an expert in this area; see item 7h below for details. 3) In connection with the 50^th anniversary of Harry S. Truman’s 1948 upset election, I spoke as a guest lecturer at the National Archives on that campaign and election, and for my local newspaper, I wrote on feature article on Truman’s whistle-stop visit to my hometown.

Archival Matters: Archival management and administration and records management, with primarily expertise in records appraisal, scheduling, and disposition matters in general. My expertise in archives comes mainly from over a decade of work, involving all essential program areas, with NARA’s regional archives system and seven affiliated archives, the latter of which I directly oversaw. This expertise was recognized in the Spring of 1999, when, upon the recommendation of NARA officials, the US Army brought me in to study and report on the management of its archives/manuscript program at the US Army History Institute at Carlisle Barracks, PA. In recent year, I have been closely involved with establishing a new and revitalized records management initiative within NARA’s regional operations. For more details for both these matters, see item 1 below.

Prior to my arrival, the College, which was founded in 1885, had no systematic program to identify, organize, preserve, and make available its permanent records. Intellectual control over its past and current records was lacking. Complicating matters, a fire in 1950 had destroyed much of its early documentation. The College’s institutional memory was fragmented and weak and in danger of being lost. As College archivist, I am responsible for establishing and administering 1) an archival program for the College’s institutional records; 2) a special collections for materials relating to the College and Winfield community; and 3) a records management program to obtain the timely and appropriate disposition of the College’s current records. The focus of my current activities is inventorying, appraising, and scheduling records for disposition, as well as implementing the archives and special collection programs. An important aspect of the latter includes obtaining historical materials and financial support for the programs from alumni. As College historian, I am charged with collecting historical information on the school and making it available to interested parties—the administrative staff, faculty, students, and alumni—through papers, articles, and talks.

• Archivist (GS-7 - GS-13). National Archives & Records Administration (NARA), Central Office, Washington, DC, unless otherwise noted, from July 1970 until my retirement in July 1999.

Principal Duty: NARA Liaison with Affiliated Archives, which are non-NARA archival facilities at which NARA, pursuant to a formal agreement, has deposited records in its legal custody. Challenge: after years of neglect, establishing and maintaining an affiliated archives oversight program to ensure that NARA’s records are maintained and serviced in accordance with agreed to conditions and pertinent Federal laws and regulations. In doing so, I created the position of NARA liaison, put in place a program emphasizing frequent contacts, annual inspections, and training, and changed their designation from "satellite" to "affiliated" archives. As liaison, I monitored affiliated archives activities; provided technical advice and assistance; maintained contact between affiliated archives staff and NARA specialists; coordinated appraisal, accessioning, processing, description and inventory preparation, and preservation activities; planed and organized regular meetings with NARA staffs; and made annual inspections or coordinate such inspections made by field personnel and, as necessary, recommended corrective action to both affiliated archives and NARA officials. I also advised NARA management, including the Archivist, on proposals to establish new affiliates and, when authorized, develop memoranda of agreement and coordinate other matters necessary to their establishment.

Other Duties: From 1989-96, they involved working with the staffs of NARA’s 13 regional archives. From 1997 to 1999, my focus expanded to include regional records center operations as well as archives, and I was involved in a developing a regional records management program. My duties included or have included: Coordinating appraisal review, approval, and schedule implementation; coordinating and monitoring regional participation in NARA’s records management evaluation program; developing, implementing, and monitoring special regional record disposition projects; providing guidance and assistance to regional staffs on these and other matters; and participating in inspections, usually addressing special problems. As part of NARA’s reorganization, I represented my office on task forces examining appraisal policy and procedural issues and provided guidance individually to staff regarding what NARA should be.

Performance Ratings: Over 10 years, I received 7 highly successful and 3 outstanding performance appraisals.

2. Office of Federal Records Centers, 1987-89. Disposition coordinator, responsible for overseeing center disposition activities nationwide, including implementation of agency records schedules, resolving special disposition problems, implementing and monitoring special projects, and participating in center inspections.

3. Detailed to Office of the National Archives, 1986-87. Assigned to the Washington National Records Center (WNRC) to analyze and develop solutions for long-standing appraisal and disposition problems involving large volumes of older, often unappraised or unscheduled or improperly scheduled records, over which only limited intellectual control existed. Developed procedures and techniques for systematically identifying, appraising, and scheduling these records and establishing intellectual control over them using an electronic inventory system. My work formed the basis for the future WNRC Appraisal Project (see item 7d below).

4. Office of Federal Records Centers, Records Disposition Division, 1973-85. Records appraiser and coordinator for military appraisal. Joining the newly established division, helped to develop and implement innovative appraisal policies and procedures to address a vast and growing volume of unscheduled records governmentwide. In August 1977, after finishing a special assignment at the National Personnel Records Center (NPRC) (see item 7f below), named coordinator and later supervisory archivist for the appraisal of military and intelligence agency records, which entailed assigning disposition jobs to the military appraisal staff, providing them with guidance and instruction, monitoring job progress and timely completion, and approving jobs for the director’s signature, as well as monitoring and sometimes directing special appraisal and scheduling projects.

5. Office of the National Archives, Records Appraisal Division, 1972-73. Journeyman records appraiser, handling the records of Presidential committees, commissions, and boards, plus certain military agencies.

6. Office of Presidential Library, 1970-72. Archivist trainee. Underwent two years of intensive, full time archival training consisting of a formal course of study and a work program, including special assignments at the Manuscripts Division, Library of Congress; Political History Division, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution; and with the Nixon Presidential Liaison Staff at the old Executive Office Building; and also carried out special projects.

7. NARA Special Projects, 1970–1999.

a. Served on Work Groups relating to NARA Reorganization, 1997-99. These groups focused on critical aspects of NARA operations, particularly appraisal and accessioning policy and procedures, as well as future NARA program emphasis in the area of records management and electronic records. Chosen from among senior archivists to service as a permanent member of the agency BPR (Business Product Reengineering) effort, which will shape the future NARA, but did not serve due to retirement.

b. Serviced on Task Force on Official Military Personnel Records, 1995, which recommended their permanent retention and addressed other issues relating to their ultimate disposition and preservation. I contributed the "Cincinnatus concept," which has been accepted by the Archivist, providing that a record should be preserved on all individuals who have served their country honorably in the military.

c. Chaired Task Force on Affiliated Archives, 1994, which re-evaluated and reaffirmed their place in NARA’s overall program and suggested ways for strengthening and improving the program.

d. Chaired WNRC Disposition Project Planning Group, 1989, which defined the purpose and scope of the project, proposed processing priorities, and recommended procedures for carrying out the work. (See 3 above.)

e. Detailed to Office of Administration to oversee a special study of Archives security, 1978. Assisted GSA security experts in evaluating security in the Archives building and in preparing a report, with detailed recommendations, to the Archivist. Also, helped to draft a job position for a NARA security officer and implement an agencywide badge system.

f. NPRC Military and Civilian Disposition Project, 1974-77. After a 1973 fire, assigned to NPRC to carry out a special disposition program for military field command records, 1953-64. Developed procedures and techniques for the systematic inventorying, scheduling, and processing these records; appraised records and coordinated their disposition with interested parties; and oversaw their physical rewarehousing. Accomplished the destruction of over 63,000 cu. ft. of records, as well as the accessioning of several important collections into NARA. Also, undertook project work involving the ultimate disposition of civilian pay and personnel-related records.

g. World War I Final Pay Voucher Screening Project, 1973-74. Carried out the screening of a large collection of World War I pay accounts for final pay vouchers for used in reconstructing military personnel files lost in the 1973 NPRC fire and in confirming honorable military service. This involved analyzing voluminous collections of complex disbursing officers financial accounts, developing screening procedures, hiring intermittent and teaching them screening procedures, and supervising staff and overseeing the project, including the shipment of the screened vouchers to NPRC. A special challenge was that the vouchers had to be accessible for reference use at all times, except when in transit.

h. Historian/Archivist Presidential Inaugural Committees, 1973 (Nixon), and 1981 and 1985 (Reagan); and NARA Inaugural Expert. Acting in a consultant’s role, provided guidance and advice to the committee staff on how previous inaugural committees had functioned in key areas, drawing upon information found in past committee records, as well as my own experience, the objective being to avoid re-inventing the wheel; advised the committee staff and the media on the history of past inaugurations; and, at the end, secured reports on operations and gathered the committee records for use of future committees and eventual deposit in a Presidential library. Worked closely with all media; made appearances on radio and television; quoted in the press. In the Spring, 1985, at the request of Michael Deaver, Special Assistant to the President, submitted a paper calling for initiating planning for a Reagan Presidential library. As an inaugural expert, in 1989, 1993, and 1997, I was called upon to provide information to the media and appeared on television and radio. In 1997, at the request of the Clinton Inaugural Committee, briefed the press corps on inaugural history.

• Veterans Administration, Claims Adjudicator, Regional Office, Milwaukee, WI, May - July 1970.

Journeyman adjudicator. Transferred to NARA.

• University of Missouri, Columbia, History Department, school years 1965-67.

Teaching Assistant for Richard Kirkendall (course in XXth Century US History) and Research Assistant for Noble Cunningham (preliminary editing of early Congressional letters) and Alan Davis (background on Jane Addams).

• Railway Ice & Service Co., Monett, MO, Summer employment, 1963-66.

Did everything from tarring the roof to making, selling, and delivering ice to keeping the plant books and doing its budget; perhaps the best job I ever had.

Training: Numerous training courses over the years focusing on archives, management, and personnel matters, along with computer use and personal development.

Recognition: I have received numerous awards, certificates, and letters of appreciation from NARA and outside agencies and individuals. I was elected to Phi Alpha Theta, an honorary history fraternity.

Outside Interests: Reading; building my personal library; assisting local historical groups; investing; collecting historical medals, especially those relating to personages and events of the 1920s and Presidential inaugurations; and various sports: running, hiking, and tennis.

Last Supervisor (1989-1999): Rosanne Butler (Formerly Supervisory Archivist for Records Management, Outreach, & Public Programs; now resigned)

16 Buford Road

Williamsburg, VA 23188

Tel: 757-564-3893

Raymond A. Mosley

Assistant Archivist for the Federal Register

Office of the Federal Register

800 N. Capitol Street, NW

Washington, DC 20408

Tel: 202-523-4534

John Scroggins

3408 Weltham Street

Suitland, MD 20746

Tel: 301-423-0031

Roger Bruns

National Historical Publications & Records Commission

National Archives & Records Administration

Washington, DC 20408

Tel: 202-501-5600

Frank Suran

Director

Bureau of Archives

Pennsylvania Historical & Museum Commission

Box 1026

Harrisburg, PA 17108-1026

Tel: 717-783-9872

Dr. Robert H. Ferrell

512 Hawthorne Drive

Bloomington, IN 47401

Ms. Cyndy Bittinger

Executive Director

Coolidge Memorial Foundation

Plymouth Notch, VT

Tel: 802-672-3389