U.S. Senate Historian on Career Opportunities in Public History

Betty K. Koed is the U.S. Senate Historian and Director of the Senate Historical office. Koed earned her Ph.D. in political and public history at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she also taught history and provided editorial assistance to The Public Historian. A Senate Historian, Koed supervises all historical and archival projects, provides talks and presentations to senators, staff, and the public on wide-ranging topics of Senate history, and conducts oral history interviews with former senators and staff. She oversees more than 10,000 pages of historical material on the Senate website, is senior editor of the Biographical Directory of the U.S. Congress, and provides research and reference assistance to the Senate community and the media. Her current Senate projects include online documentary histories of Senate impeachment trials and a series of oral history interviews to explore the decision-making process during the 2008-2009 financial crisis.

Some Questions Dr. Koed Will Address:

• How and why did you pursue a career in public history?
• What does the Senate Historian do?
• What do you like the most, and the least, about your job?
• As a professional public historian, how do you interact with those working in the broader historical profession?
• What are the unique challenges of being a Senate historian?
• What are your thoughts on the state of public history and how well that field is served by academic departments and professional organizations?
• As the Senate historian, how do you define professional success?

A reception follows the session: light refreshments and libations included.