The Smithsonian National Museum of American History recently elected three historians, Ellsworth H. Brown, James O. Horton, and Vicki Ruiz to its advisory board. The Smithsonian’s Board of Regents approved the candidates for three-year terms with the option of serving a second term.

Dr. Brown is the director of the Wisconsin Historical Society, and is the former president and CEO of the Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. Previously, he served as president and director of the Chicago Historical Society from 1981 to 1993.

Dr. Horton is the Benjamin Banneker Professor of American Studies and History at George Washington University. He held a joint appointment at museum from 1981 to 2004 during which he was the director of the Afro-American Communities Project.

Dr. Ruiz is a Professor of history and Chicano/Latino studies, and director of the University of California, Irvine’s Humanities Out There (HOT) outreach program.