Colleen Shogan
11th Archivist of the United States
Assumed office
May 17, 2023
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byDebra Steidel Wall (acting)
Personal details
Born (1975-09-30) September 30, 1975
Greater Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationBoston College (BA)
Yale University (MA, PhD)

Colleen Joy Shogan (born September 30, 1975) is an American author and academic serving as Archivist of the United States since May 17, 2023, succeeding Acting Archivist Debra Wall. Prior to her confirmation as Archivist, Shogan was the director of the David M. Rubenstein Center for White House History at the White House Historical Association.

Early life and education

Born and raised in Greater Pittsburgh, Shogan was encouraged to read mysteries by her late mother, Patricia, and started with books from the Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys series.[1] Shogan graduated from Norwin High School.[2]

She was a first-generation college student in her family and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from Boston College and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in American politics from Yale University.[1][3]

Career

After earning her PhD, Shogan worked as an associate professor of government and politics at George Mason University.[4] She is the author of Moral Rhetoric of American Presidents, a book on the rhetorical presidency. Shogan later joined the Library of Congress, where she served as assistant deputy for collections and deputy director of the Congressional Research Service. Shogan worked as the vice chair of the Women’s Suffrage Centennial Commission and taught as an adjunct professor in the government department at Georgetown University.[5]

She is the author of eight murder mystery novels, featuring Washington congressional aide Kit Marshall,[6] with titles that include Stabbing in the Senate, Homicide in the House, and Larceny at the Library.[1] "They're puzzles, and I like to solve puzzles," she said in 2023 about her novels.[7]

National Archives and Records Administration

On August 13, 2022, President Joe Biden nominated Shogan to be 11th Archivist of the United States.[8]

The U.S. Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee held two hearings to consider Shogan's nomination. The first hearing was held on September 21, 2022, and the panel were deadlocked on her nomination by a 7–7 party-line vote and did not advance Shogan's nomination.[9] Second hearing was held February 28, 2023.[10] On March 15, 2023, the committee advanced Shogan’s nomination by an 8–4 vote.[11]

During the hearings, Shogan stated that she would not publish the Equal Rights Amendment as part of the United States Constitution, stating that the job of the archivist is to publish constitutional amendments following proper ratification, not to decide when an amendment is published,[12] in line with a Department of Justice Office of Legal Counsel memo on the subject in January 2020.[13] Shogan's views were criticized by the ERA Coalition.[14] Shogan also pledged to reduce the backlog of "over 300,000 veterans’ records requests", calling it the "most important discrete problem" facing her,[15] and said she would be looking for ways to declassify older historical records.[16][15] She further promised transparency on records related to the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago,[17] committed to working with U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff on Civil Rights Cold Cases,[18] stated that she would "welcome all Americans to the National Archives" if confirmed,[19] and said she would serve in a "nonpartisan, apolitical capacity".[20] In her opening statement at the September 2021 hearing, she also pledged to find "creative ways" to make the National Archives more efficient, build upon existing public-private partnerships, and engage underrepresented groups in "meaningful ways".[21]

On May 4, 2023, the United States Senate invoked cloture on Shogan’s nomination by a 53–44 vote.[22] On May 10, 2023, Shogan was confirmed as the 11th Archivist of the United States by a 52–45 vote,[23][24] with her term beginning the following week.[8] She was sworn in and began work on May 17, 2023, with her first briefing focused on addressing the "backlog of veterans’ records" and speaking with National Personnel Records Center leaders.[25] Shogan is the first woman appointed as Archivist of the United States.[26]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Historian and mystery novelist is first woman to head Archives". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2023-05-13.
  2. ↑ "Colleen Shogan: Lessons in perseverance from the suffrage movement". TribLIVE. May 13, 2020. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  3. ↑ "Colleen Shogan (PhD '02, Political Science)". Office of Career Strategy. Yale University. June 8, 2020. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Colleen J Shogan". Georgetown360. Georgetown University. Archived from the original on July 5, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Colleen Shogan". White House Historical Association. Archived from the original on April 5, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  6. ↑ "Gore in the Garden". ColleenShogan.com. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  7. ↑ Wilson, Tilda (July 4, 2023). "For the record: We visit Colleen Shogan, the first woman appointed U.S. Archivist". NPR. Retrieved July 10, 2023.
  8. 1 2 "Shogan Confirmed by U.S. Senate as 11th Archivist of the United States" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: National Archives. National Archives Public and Media Communications Staff. May 10, 2023. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  9. ↑ Amiri, Farnoush (September 21, 2022). "GOP raises Mar-a-Lago search at Archives nominee's hearing". Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  10. ↑ Bolton, Alexander (September 28, 2023). "Hawley confronts Biden's nominee to head National Archives over Twitter posts". The Hill. Archived from the original on April 7, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  11. ↑ Looker, Rachel; Mansfield, Erin (March 15, 2023). "Key Senate panel advances Biden's pick for National Archivist after two heated hearings". USA Today. Archived from the original on April 6, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  12. ↑ Munhoz, Diego Areas (May 10, 2023). "Biden Archivist Nominee Confirmed Following Tensions Over ERA". Bloomberg Law. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  13. ↑ United States Senate (September 21, 2022). Hearings Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate (PDF) (Report). Government Publishing Office. p. 18-19. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 14, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023. Who will decide the fate of the ERA is the Federal Judiciary and/or Congress.
  14. ↑ "ERA Coalition statement on Colleen Shogan's remarks during her Senate nomination hearing" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: ERA Coalition. September 10, 2022. Archived from the original on January 30, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Friedman, Drew (September 23, 2022). "Biden's pick to lead NARA eyes veterans' request backlog, agency digitization deadline". Federal News Network. Archived from the original on November 12, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  16. ↑ Buble, Courtney (February 28, 2023). "Archivist Nominee Pledges to Address a Backlog That Stands in the Way of Veterans Getting Benefits". Government Executive. Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  17. ↑ Napsha, Joe (September 21, 2022). "Shogan promises transparency at hearing for National Archives leadership role". TribLive. Archived from the original on October 3, 2022. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  18. ↑ U.S. Senate, "Hearings Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate", 26
  19. ↑ "Norwin grad Colleen Shogan, Biden's pick for U.S. archivist, questioned over social media posts". TribLive. Pennsylvania Capital-Star. March 1, 2023. Archived from the original on March 19, 2023.
  20. ↑ U.S. Senate, "Hearings Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate", 19
  21. ↑ U.S. Senate, "Hearings Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs United States Senate", 11
  22. ↑ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Colleen Joy Shogan to be Archivist of the United States)". United States Senate. May 4, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  23. ↑ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Colleen Joy Shogan, of Pennsylvania, to be Archivist of the United States)". United States Senate. May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  24. ↑ Amiri, Farnoush (May 10, 2023). "National Archives leader confirmed amid turmoil over Trump probe". Associated Press. Archived from the original on May 10, 2023. Retrieved May 10, 2023.
  25. ↑ "Shogan Assumes Office as 11th Archivist of the United States" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: National Archives. National Archives Public and Media Communications Staff. May 17, 2023. Archived from the original on May 17, 2023. Retrieved May 18, 2023.
  26. ↑ https://www.npr.org/2023/07/04/1184822908/colleen-shogan-archivist-archives#:~:text=and%20Records%20Administration-,Colleen%20Shogan%20is%20the%20first%20woman%20appointed,Archivist%20of%20the%20United%20States.&text=Shogan%20grew%20up%20in%20a,of%20the%20Congressional%20Research%20Service.
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