National Coalition for History

On May 22, Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein announced the establishment of the “Controlled Unclassified Information Office” (CUIO) within the National Archives and Records Administration. Weinstein also announced that William J. Bosanko, director of the Information Security Oversight Office, will head up this newly formed office. The Office is being created in response to the Memorandum for the Heads of Departments and Agencies on the Designation and Sharing of Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI) issued by President Bush on May 9, 2008. Read the full article »

On May 22, John Updike, Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist, author and critic, presented the 37th annual Jefferson Lecture in the Humanities in Washington. His lecture on American art, “The Clarity of Things,” is available by clicking here. Selection as Jefferson Lecturer is the most prestigious honor the federal government bestows for intellectual achievement in the humanities. Read the full article »

This week, Archivist of the United States Allen Weinstein and Tim Sullivan, Chief Executive Officer of The Generations Network, parent company of Ancestry.com, signed a five-year agreement to digitize selected records from the holdings of the National Archives. Read the full article »

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) announced this week that six new members have joined the National Council on the Humanities, the Endowment’s 26-member advisory council. The new members were nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate earlier this year. The National Council on the Humanities convened this week for its quarterly meeting to review grant applications and to advise the NEH Chairman Bruce Cole. Read the full article »

On May 14, 2008, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services and International Security held an oversight hearing on the programs of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC). Dr. Martin J. Sherwin, University Professor of History at George Mason University, and winner of the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for Biography, represented the National Coalition for History at the hearing. Read the full article »

On May 14, 2008, the “Preserving the American Historical Record Act (PAHR)” (H.R. 6056) was introduced by Congressmen Maurice Hinchey (D-NY) and Chris Cannon (R-UT). The PAHR legislation would establish a new federal program of formula grants to the states and territories to support archives and historical records at the state and local level. This week’s introduction of the PAHR bill marks the culmination of years of effort by the Council of State Archivists (CoSA) , the Society of American Archivists (SAA), and the National Association of Government Archives and Records Administration (NAGARA). Read the full article »

The White House recently released a new policy attempting to standardize procedures for the treatment of what is referred to as “Sensitive But Unclassified” (SBU) information. The memorandum issued by the president adopts, defines and institutes “Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI)” as the new standard for the treatment of such information. There are currently over 100 different markings for sensitive information that has led to over-classification. The new CUI policy would reduce that to three categories. Read the full article »

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) this week issued a report evaluating the reforms instituted by the Smithsonian Institution’s Board of Regents in response to the series of well-publicized scandals that rocked the organization over the past few years. In general, the GAO felt the Regents had successfully implemented some reforms, but still needed to develop policies and internal controls for issues such as travel, event expenses and contracting. Read the full article »

This week, the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) recommended to the Archivist of the United States 78 grants of $4.66 million for projects across the nation. These recommendations include 32 grants through the new State and National Archival Partnership grants, totaling just over $1 million, that will enable archives in the states to expand programming. Read the full article »

The Smithsonian Institution this week announced an agreement with 20th Century Fox to allow the use of its name and facilities for the filming of “Night at the Museum II: Escape from the Smithsonian.” The movie is the sequel to the 2006 film “Night at the Museum” starring Ben Stiller that earned over $250 million at the box office in the U.S., and over $500 million worldwide. This is the first time in its 162-year history that the Smithsonian Institution has allowed its name to be used in the title of a movie produced for theatrical distribution. Read the full article »