Colleen Shogan heads National Archives and Records Administration
Colleen Shogan, archivist of the United States, will deliver the School of Social Ecology’s commencement keynote address on June 16.
Shogan, who was sworn in as the nation’s 11th archivist in 2023, is the custodian of America’s history. She oversees the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), which is responsible for preserving the nation's most important historical federal records, such as presidential documents and materials.
NARA is an independent federal agency that serves American democracy by safeguarding and preserving government records so people can discover, use and learn from its documentary heritage. NARA’s holdings include: 13.5 billion pieces of paper, more than 725,000 artifacts, more than 450 million feet of film, 41 million photographs, 40 million aerial images, 10 million maps, charts, and architectural/engineering drawings, more than 33 billion electronic records (837 terabytes) and other records that are accessible to the public. The National Archives carries out its mission through a nationwide network of archives, records centers, and Presidential Libraries as well as online at www.archives.gov.
Before becoming the archivist of the United States, Shogan served as senior vice president and director of the David M. Rubenstein Center at the White House Historical Association. She previously worked in the United States Senate and as a senior executive at the Library of Congress. She was the vice chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission and the chair of the Board of Directors at the Women’s Suffrage National Monument Foundation.
Shogan also taught at Georgetown University in the Government Department and moderated seminars for the Aspen Institute. She is a past president of the National Capital Area Political Science Association, who served on the American Political Science Association Council, the governing body of the organization.
Her research focuses on the American presidency, presidential rhetoric, women in politics, and Congress.
A native of the Pittsburgh area, Shogan has a B.A. in political science from Boston College and a Ph.D. in American politics from Yale University, where she was a National Science Foundation Graduate Fellow. She is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the Order of the Cross and Crown, and the Washington, D.C. Literary Society.
Contact
Mimi Ko Cruz
Director of Communications
714-932-8589